Sasuke: A Dark Love
by Deida
Summary: After Sasuke leaves Konoha, he meets a young woman and they fall madly in love, but as with Sasuke's life, one problem after another presents itself. SasukexOC
1. All About Aoi

Sasuke Uchiha stood inside what was going to be his new room for the week or so Orochimaru was staying in this forsaken hide-out. The walls were rough, cold, jagged stone, very much like his heart. The bed was low to the floor and pushed against the wall, leaving a wide-open space in the middle of the room. A small candle was placed beside the bed on the stone floor. He now felt like a prisoner not only in mind, but in body as well.

He shuddered slightly as Orochimaru stalked up behind him.

"Sasuke-kun," He purred, "I'm eager to start our training, but first, Aoi shall change you from those rags," He stepped aside and revealed a girl Sasuke's age with pale, sun-deprived skin, large, fearful blue eyes, a skinny, awkward body, and lustrous black hair that hung loosely to the small of her back.

He merely grunted in response.

Aoi fearfully scuttled into his room as Orochimaru left. She looked at him, afraid that he would strike her down, and asked in a quiet, broken voice, "Could you please raise your arms for me?"

He really wasn't used to being asked that, but he knew that she was only doing her job.

He raised his arms for her. She pulled his shirt off and threw it down at her feet. She then handed him the thin, white blanket from his bed.

"Take off your pants, I'll be back with the proper attire," She turned and left him with a low bow.

Aoi walked stealthily through the long hallway from Sasuke's room to what was the make-shift washroom. The hall was just the same as Sasuke's room; it was rough stone with barely any light. She reached the door when Kabuto, who had a certain fondness for Aoi since she first arrived four years ago, reached out to her slender wrist.

"Aoi, why are you here? Shouldn't you be attending to the new arrival?"

"I am," She looked away nervously.

"I don't believe you. I think you came here, secretly hopping to see me," His glasses flashed from a flickering candle overhead.

"I didn't!"

His grip on her wrist tightened. With his free hand, he grabbed her rope obi and began to untie it.

Tears started to fill her eyes as she whispered, "Please, don't do this! Please, let me go! Please, I need to see to Sasuke!"

If she had a chance, those last few words ruined it.

Kabuto frowned, "Why do you have to play like it like that?"

"I'm sorry," She whimpered under his stern and questioningly hurt gaze.

"That's better. A woman should know her place, don't you agree?" He smiled kindly at her.

"Yes,"

"Oh, don't be so sad, I still hold you in my heart!" With that said, he pulled her into close embrace.

Aoi wished with all her heart that she were not here. Here with Kabuto. Here under Orochimaru's twisted control. She wished she was strong enough to defend herself, but every single time she came close to trying to better herself, she was thwarted in every possible way. But even if she did leave, she had no where else to be, so she stayed.

Kabuto pulled her from her safety shell of thoughts by sliding two fingers roughly into her vagina. She rolled her head so she could face away from her violator.

"Aoi! I thought I told you to tend the Sasuke!" Orochimaru's voice thundered with rage.

Her head snapped over to face the pale snake, "I'm sorry! I was trying to but Kabuto-"

Orochimaru cut her off, "Blaming others? I thought you were better than that! Kabuto, desist and let her work, there will be plenty of time for this later," He spoke lightly, as if Aoi wasn't being raped before his eyes.

"Orochimaru-sama, forgive me," Kabuto released Aoi.

She fell forward but caught herself before she hit the ground. Orochimaru stood in front of her and cupped her face in his hands. She shivered at the contact.

"Aoi, you're such a lovely girl, you need not lower yourself to get my attention," He dropped her head and left to go about his sinister business.

After fixing her white kimono and re-tying her purple obi, she grabbed Sasuke's new clothes and acted as though nothing happened to her only moments ago.

* * *

Ok, here's another Sasuke fic. I really need to stop writing these, but I just can't help it! Well, anyways, back to business. Please review, thanks for reading thus far, and uh, a quick vocab:

kun: male suffix of respect in Japanese.

sama: male suffix of respect in Japanese.

If I'm wrong, please inform me and I'll fix that!

Oh, and I keep forgetting, but I don't own Naruto, just this story and Aoi.


	2. A Wordy Appetizer

Aoi, holding Sasuke's new robes in her arms, stood before the bitchy raven himself. He was slouching against the wall and his bed with the blanket spread generously over his lap, leaving a fair bit to the imagination of every girl but the one present. His left knee was holding his left arm up, and he was watching his cut squirt out tiny droplets of blood. A thin, blood-stained blade was still firmly held in his right hand. He didn't seem to notice Aoi's presence.

She tore a strip off of her sleeve and grabbed his arm simultaneously. He scowled at her, wondering how she had the nerve to touch him all the sudden. She held his arm out and wrapped it tightly in the strip.

"Stand up, please," Her voice sounded displaced, like it always did after she was sexually assaulted.

He dropped the blanket and did as she asked.

"You must have some vendetta to come here," She spoke, not even caring that he was naked, as she dressed him.

He glared at the wall, as memories he didn't want flooded his mind.

"You sure are quiet. But why bother speaking to a me anyways?" She sighed forlornly and tied his clothes loosely.

"How long?" Sasuke spoke for the first time and took her by surprise.

"Have I been here?"

He nodded.

"Four years. I don't even remember why I came here anymore," She paused for moment and decided to open up and take a chance, "But no doubt it was nothing compared to your reason. But I won't ask what your reason is,"

"You seem to know,"

"Not really. I just know you came here to get stronger. To get revenge,"

"My brother, Itachi Uchiha, killed our whole clan in a single night, and he let me live," He shocked himself by saying all of that, but something about Aoi just made him feel comfortable.

"That's awful! But did you ever stop to think if he had a hidden reason for doing it?"

"At first I did, I mean he was my older brother whom I looked up to, but I realized that he was just a sick, twisted, bastard," He cursed himself for opening up more to this stranger he has only known for a matter of minutes than to somebody he's known and was close to for years.

"Well, you would know better then anyone else. So, may I ask how long you've been cutting yourself?" She changed the subject, but knew she could have picked a better topic.

He slowly shook his head, indicating that it was not a topic he'd like to pursue.

Aoi closed her eyes, as if trying to remember something. Her hand went subconsciously to her stomach. She opened her eyes and tightly gripped her belly, tears splashed down her cheek in torrents.

Not knowing what to do and feeling extremely uncomfortable with the crying girl, he patted her back. In doing so, he ended up brushing her clothed chest with his bare one. She looked into his black eyes and blushed bright scarlet. She quickly wiped her tears away and muttered something about being stupid and stood back to admire her handiwork.

Satisfied, Aoi looked reluctantly to the door and said with large traces of venom in her voice, "We should get going," She grabbed his hand and led him from the room.

When she grabbed his hand, it was his turn to blush. Luckily for him, she kept her eyes forward on a large stone set of double doors. She released his hand when the doors were. He immediately, for some reason he didn't like or understand, missed the warmth, tender emotion, and comfort her hands held. She opened the doors and entered the dinning room after Sasuke with her head bowed.

* * *

Sorry it's so short, but the chapter was pissing me off! So, yeah, this is a re-write. If you did read the original chapter, my thanks and sorrow. If not, good for you. So, please review!


	3. Sasuke's Slave

The stony double doors opened, a crowded space crammed up in the fashion of a cheap cafeteria. Aoi entered the room behind Sasuke, her head facing the rough stone floor. Sasuke was aware of Aoi, and of a dark cloud looming over her head. But even though he was a little curious, he didn't care. He had come here for a reason, and he had no intentions of losing his way. Orochimaru was waiting for the beautiful boy in the middle of the room, a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

"Ah, Sasuke-Kun," Orochimaru said his name with such a thrill, it frightened and sickened the boy, "And our own little Aoi. Are you enjoying her services already?"

Sasuke had the feeling that there was a sexual undertone to his words, so he brushed it off, "I only care about getting stronger."

Aoi's face darkened, "Orochimaru-sama, if I'm through here, I would like to retire for the night."

"Aoi, you're such an obedient slave," He was suddenly by her side, stroking her cheek with his thumb, "Such a lovely creature, wouldn't you agree Sasuke-kun?"

She had the sinking feeling she knew where this was going, "I am here to serve in any way I am needed."

The white snake released the wilting flower from his clutches, "See Sasuke-kun, Aoi knows her place."

"She's our little saving grace, isn't she?" Kabuto stepped in his master's abandoned place, slithering out from the shadows to hold her by the waist, "But she can be so harsh, can't she?"

She winced, her body perfectly conditioned to know him, to fear him, and to loathe him, "I don't try to displease my masters."

Orochimaru smirked as he enjoyed the game at hand, now behind Aoi, fondling her freely, "Sasuke-kun, don't you find Aoi attractive?"

She was shapely yet slender, but so ordinarily plain, maybe even a bit androgynous. Her black hair was probably silky and lustrous at one time, but now there was a lack of care, and it was lanky like her petite frame. Her sapphire eyes were bright and passionate, but the fire in them burned dimly and swollen black bags hung from them, distracting from their splendor. She might have been a beauty once, but now, all Sasuke could see about her was a girl beaten and desperately clinging to life by a thread.

"She's..." He saw the pleading look in the corner of his eyes, "Moderate. She'll serve my purposes well enough."

He had no idea why he was trying to save this girl that meant nothing to him, but he found himself out on a limb for a complete stranger that he'd only just met. She had heard a similar statement almost daily, but there was something different about the way he had said it. It sounded almost like he cared, but she wasn't fooling herself, so she thought that he must have been a better liar than the rest. Orochimaru certainly seemed to be amused by the turn of events. As for Kabuto, he was more or less indifferent on the outside.

Orochimaru pulled Aoi's kimono loose, exposing her chest, and he shoved her at Sasuke, "Then you may have her."

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto was not pleased with the outcome of this, "Aoi is...I thought that Aoi was nothing more than a servant girl. Why give her specifically to Sasuke-kun?"

He looked at Kabuto, taking his reaction in and savoring it, "I am the master here and I may do what ever I please. Giving Sasuke-kun a small gift is well within my power."

Aoi was doing her best to keep from blushing as her bare chest rubbed against Sasuke, "Does master wish for my services?"

He gulped, never once having been exposed to a girl in this manner, "Do as you wish for now."

She nodded, gathering her shirt back in place, darting to her quarters before he could change his mind, "Good night master!"

Orochimaru shrugged, "Aoi doesn't seem to mind," He eyed Sasuke for a split second, "But then again, who could ignore the glory of the mighty Uchiha?"

Sasuke grunted at the compliment, "Hn."

Orochimaru sent him back to his room, "Sasuke-kun, you should rest. You have training at dawn."

* * *

Wow, three years? Has it really been that long since I last updated? Geez, I hope everyone still remembers this story! I honestly don't know what to say about this this getting sidelined for so long, but if I had to guess, I'd think that I postponed it for two reasons: 1; I didn't have anything to write about this, and 2; I really put this on too high of a pedestal. Well, hopefully I can update sooner than another three years!


	4. The Snake's Den

Sasuke, cringing on the inside, returned to his room. He had the feeling that Kabuto was really going to get torn a new asshole, so he rushed off not wanting to take a part of it. He returned to his room, thinking that he'd be alone. He was wrong. Aoi was was waiting for Sasuke, sitting at the edge of his bed, her hands folded lightly in her lap. No matter much Aoi hated her life, and her job, she did her best to preform at the peak of her ability. No matter what that meant.

"I thought you went to bed," He carelessly walked over to her, holding out his hand to help her up, "Let me - "

She popped up, mashing her lips to his, whispering urgently at the same time, "They're watching."

He stumbled to the side, unused to such forceful behavior, but he could still detect the presence of an audience, "Then do what must be done."

He had no clue what he had just ordered her to do. Orochimaru did. And Kabuto. And whoever else had been in the traitorous seinin's good graces. She wished that he had not said that, but he had, so she would do it.

"Master - " She was about to say something, but Sasuke cut her off.

Shaking his head, he commanded his slave, "Don't call me that."

Aoi nodded shakily, "Yes, Sasuke-sama."

He could live with that much, so he allowed her to continue, "Hn."

"Sasuke-sama, how do you want it?" She grabbed her obi, untying it so it fell on the floor at her feet.

Her kimono fell open, resting only on her shoulders. Sasuke wanted to look away, but was unable to. Her skin was so bruised, she looked like her skin was tattooed in some tacky animal print. Aoi's timid breathing brought her partially exposed breasts into the light, showcasing rows and rows of bite marks. Slowly slipping her clothes off to pile around her in a half-halo, Sasuke noted a series of scars ridging her body so that she looked oddly inhuman. Some of them were no thinner than a razor, others were so thick, he had no idea what could have made them. And he noticed something else. There were tears running down her cheeks.

"Aoi...Put your clothes back on," He didn't care that they were being watched: He refused to hurt this pathetic creature if he could help it.

She looked up in surprise, not moving an inch, "What?"

He grabbed her kimono off the floor and held it so she could slip her arms inside, "Here."

She continued to look at him dumbfounded, "Is Sasuke-sama repulsed by my body?"

He could feel his cheeks burning as he thought of the body underneath what he saw, "Get dressed."

She nodded, getting dressed again with his help, "I'm sorry that my body is so disfigured."

He shook his head, "That's not it."

"Then what is it?" Orochimaru alone entered the room, "I give you my most valuable girl, and you don't lay a finger on her?"

Sasuke struggled to retie her obi, "I don't want to be handed something like that."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Kukuku, Sasuke-kun, you naughty boy you. Fine, you may keep her as long as you wish."

Aoi twisted her neck to look at Sasuke. He looked into her eyes, seeing a frightened animal. She was just like a helpless rabbit at the mercy of a den of snakes. Too slow to escape and to cornered to try. He pitied her, almost as much as he hated Itachi. Almost.

* * *

Yay, it hasn't been three years this time! WOOT! Anyway, I'm happy to be working on this again! Sorry its so crass and dangerously close to graphic. But, you read this far, so obviously you don't mind too much ^^. Before anyone says anything, I know that Sasuke, and everyone else, probably wouldn't say/do something like this, but this one of my takes in my own warped perception. Yeah, and...my face! So what now? Sorry, random hyper moment. Well, enjoy and look forward to see what happens next.


	5. Opening Old Wounds

Three secret bases later, Sasuke had gotten used to not only having a servant of very own, but the lifestyle in general. It was rigorous, grueling, painful in places that shouldn't hurt, and brutal. Not only had he been worked to the bone daily, he had been...Well, there's no tender way to say it: Sasuke had been made Orochimaru's bitch. Like, the prison don't-drop-the-soap kind. He might have lost it if Aoi hadn't been there to console him through it. Having experienced some of what she had gone through, he pitied her all the more.

"Sasuke-sama," Aoi had kept a firm and unfaltering standing in her levels of respect, much to his chagrin, "How is it today?"

Things had gotten a bit out of hand the other day, so Sasuke was forced to rest and recuperate before he could do ANYTHING. Aoi had been a good sport, trying her best to keep his spirits up. It worked for a while, but he had a one track mind...

"Aoi... You seem like - "

She cut him off, not disrespectfully, "Like someone who wouldn't be in a place like this? If I tell you, may I ask you something in return?"

He thought about it for a minute, "You can do whatever you want."

She nodded, "What kind of person do you think I am? Or put another way, what is your impression of me?"

He had expected a personal inquiry, not an opinion, and it was a harmless enough question anyways, so he decided to humor her, "You're kind...but frail."

She seemed to expect as much, "Yes...But is that all you see?"

"No," He spoke without thinking, "I pity you, because you're like me. You can understand pain, hate, and anger...But you never show it."

"Is that right?" She chuckled, seeing some kind of irony or humor that he couldn't, "Well, you're right. You've answered my question, so now I'll answer yours."

She took a seat next to him, looking listlessly out the window, "When I was younger, my father went on a rampage and killed my mother. He snuck into their room and slit her throat...He came for all of us...mother, nii-san, nee-chan...Even the cat. But when he got to me, he stopped. 'Aoi, they wanted to hurt you' he said, and then he handed me the knife he used on them. He wanted me to kill him. I took it...but I couldn't hurt my father, so I let it clang to the ground. He smacked my head against the wall, rendering me unconscious...He was gone when I woke up."

Sasuke nodded, "Is that it?"

She frowned, "If only. He came back for me, and he told me that he killed them because he was told to...And he wasn't lying. This rouge shinobi had stumbled upon my family and was using us as test dummies before his grand assault on the village that spurned him. But to kill us? That was unforgivable what he had put my family through...So I fought him, but I was no match for him. Orochimaru found me, or had been watching the whole time I think, and he promised me my revenge."

Sasuke understood Aoi now and felt that just maybe, she understood him a bit too, "So what happened?"

"What do you think? I became a mindless slave with no purpose or life after he had been found dead. Suicide," She looked over at him, standing back up with her back to him and her arms over her midriff, "And after that, I was such a mess inside. I left Orochimaru, and I found someone I thought...Well, that's not important. The point is, I made some major adult mistakes, and I ended up back here. Then you arrived."

He missed the way she said that last part, "What mistakes could you have made?"

She laughed, tears choking the sound and mingling it horribly, "How old do you think I am?"

"Thirteen?" He guessed, assuming that she was his age.

"Fourteen, and already a one-time bride, " She looked over her shoulder, "But no longer..."

His jaw dropped, "You've already been married?"

She sighed as if she had suddenly became exhausted, sitting back down next to him, "It was a political thing more than anything else, but, the guy didn't seem to know, and after I got pregnant...Well, he lost it and dragged the fetus from my stomach...The really big scar. Anyways, he was paranoid and he drew the wrong conclusions. I've never really gotten close to anyone after that."

He could understand why, "You've never told anyone that before, have you?"

She shook her head, tears now rolling freely down her pale face, "No one cared. They were just 'happy' to have me back."

* * *

Wow, Sasuke and Aoi sure are opening up, aren't they? And that's some pretty heavy stuff, isn't it? Yeah, it is. And wrong. Fourteen, really? How damaged am I? Well, I wanted to make her older, but I wanted to make her about Sasuke's age even more, so there you have it.


	6. One Thing Leads To Another

Aoi looked at herself in the mirror, shocked to see normal colored skin and no bite marks lining her body. Her eyes were less bagged now, and there was life in them again, a dim life, but life nonetheless. Sasuke had been so good to her, and he never once had tried to touch her. Her life was actually heading in a more decent direction now, well, as good as life could be in that hell, and for the first time in years, she was close to happy. Maybe it was over-stepping her place, but she actually considered them to be close, like friends.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was beginning to think that he might like Aoi. It was undeniable that he had stuck his neck out for her, that he was comfortable speaking openly with her, and that there was a level of respect, companionship, and understanding between the two of them. He didn't like seeing her afraid or hurt, and he felt a little bit lighter inside when she smiled. There wasn't alot to smile about, but when she did smile...

"Does Sasuke-sama require anything else?" She had just brought him his lunch, as he usually took a private meal in his room, and she stood nearby as he ate the food she had prepared him.

"Hn." He was responsive as ever.

"Was the meal to your liking?" She asked when he was done eating, her own meal finished.

He handed her back the bento box, every grain of rice gone, "You cooked this right?"

She nodded, "I prepare all of Sasuke-sama's meals."

"You would have made a good wife," He complimented her, knowing full well that the chances of her ever marrying again were slim, then thought better of it after what she had told him, "I - "

She smiled, waving him down, "I understand what you mean. And thank you."

"Aoi?" He asked for me to stay, so I sat next to him, just far enough away so that I wasn't in his personal space.

"Was there something Sasuke-sama wished to ask of me, or may I have the honor of - "

"Drop the servant act..." He rolled his eyes at me.

I nodded, "Thanks. Being grateful twenty-four seven can be such a pain..."

"Then why do you do it?" He demanded.

She smirked, "Because I owe you... And out of all my previous 'masters', you deserve it the most. You deserve so much more than what you've been given."

"My life's ambition is to kill my brother, you do remember that, don't you?" He was no longer surprised at how easy it was to say those kinds of things to her, so it was easy to continue, "I swear, sometimes I wonder if you even have a brain."

She grinned, "Well, brain aside, I'd like to think that I have a heart, and my heart tells me that even if you intend to do great evil, you were led to that point becuase of what others have done. Your fate was out of your hands from a young age, and you didn't deserve that. You might not be the person you were before coming here, but the you that I know, that you deserves so much more than this..."

Though she repeated herself, or maybe becuase she repeated herself, Sasuke knew that she meant her words from the bottom of her heart, "And who did this to me?"

She wasn't comfortable mentioning his friends, but she had opened this can of worms, so it was her duty to see it through to the end, "From what I gather... It was the entire village. They actually let a young child stay in the house where his family was murdered, and they did nothing to help you through the pain, did they? And that Haruno girl! Every time she opened her mouth, it just set you back. Forgive me for saying all that, and not knowing everything, it's not my place to say such things, but someone had to tell you."

Neither of them had noticed when it happened, but they were centimeters from each other. He could hear her heart thundering her chest, her soft panting as she recovered from her rant. She was still on fire though, he could tell by the way she grabbed his hand on her cheek. She didn't move it away, in fact, she wasn't moving at all. Taking this moment, he brushed his lips against hers.

* * *

Ah, a cliff-hanger! Sorry about the wait... Its not as bad as lat time though, you have to admit! Well, not last time as in the last time I posted a chapter, but last time as in the last time it took me forever to post. Sorry about that, and besides the abrupt ending, this chapter was decent, right? I thought it was...


	7. Where The Path Ends

Unaware of when it happened, Sasuke and Aoi had drawn infinitely closer during her rant. They were so close, he could hear her hart pounding, her breath coming out in tiny puffs. Still upset by the negligence Sasuke had received from his village, she squeezed the hand caressing her cheek. Realizing what was happening seconds too late, she froze, and he took the chance to kiss her lightly on the lips.

Blinking at him in astonishment, Aoi smiled, pulling him closer to her, "Are you sure you want down this road?"

He brushed her cheek, "I know that I want you there by my side."

Satisfied by that answer, she kissed him back, slowly applying pressure to the lip-lock, "If you really want me by your side, we'll wait."

He smirked, "And if I wanted you now?"

She pushed him down on his back, her body pressed against him, "Then you'll reap what you sow."

"Is that so?" He pushed her back, sitting upright.

Besides the fact that he really did care about her, the idea of sex... It was a bit intimidating. Aoi had been with a questionable number of people in her past, Sasuke used the term people becuase he was fairly sure that she had probably been with women in her past, not necessarily by choice, but he wasn't sure, and she was probably expecting alot from him. He was from the Uchiha clan after all, so that meant that he had to be superior in _all_ ways, at least, that's what he always imagined, even before he knew anything about reproduction. And there was the fact that they really cared for each other, so he had to find some way to show her that, and to do that in his first time with a woman... It was daunting to say the least.

Aoi was equally apprehensive about finally doing it with him. She had been used and abused by a number of people, men and women alike, and he was special. Sasuke was nothing like anyone else she's ever met, and to make love was something she had never done before. But poor Sasuke had never had sex with a woman at all, so she'd have to lend him a hand no doubt, and while she would be patient with him either way, she wanted him to feel like a man, which she found unlikely to happen if she had to point him in the right direction.

"I should probably go see to the dishes..." Aoi glanced at the lunch boxes on the floor, but her mind was thinking of what it would be like when they did become intimate.

"Hn." He didn't care about the dishes at the moment either, because his mind was likewise occupied.

As if sensing the atmosphere from the outside, Kabuto let himself into the room, something that Sasuke had grown used to in this past year, "You know I don't like to be disturbed."

Kabuto beamed as if he hadn't heard a word the younger boy had said, "I thought I'd find you in here, Aoi-chan."

She frowned, subconsciously edging a bit closer to Sasuke for protection, "Why are you looking for me?"

Sasuke and Aoi exchanged glances, wondering if Orochimaru had decided to take her back, "Orochimaru-sama has some unexpected business to deal with, and we're in the middle of a very dangerous experiment, so he'll be gone for a few days at least, and I'll be in the lab. However, he wished to speak to Sasuke-kun before our little separation. And I wished to talk to you, darling Aoi-chan."

Knowing it was stupid to part, they had no choice, so Sasuke left the room to find the snake, and Aoi stood rooted firmly in place, speaking once Sasuke was gone, "You had better not try anything... Sasuke will find out, and you - "

"He'll find out?" Kabuto laughed, standing behind Aoi with his chin resting on her shoulder, "How will he ever find out unless you tell him?"

She was about to say that Sasuke would see it, but she caught herself, "I'm loyal to Sasuke-sama."

He smirked, nuzzling her ear, "I bet you are. Sweet Aoi, you do seem to fall in love so easily."

"I don't..." She couldn't honestly say that she didn't love him, but she couldn't say that she did either.

"Don't what?" He enjoyed tormenting her, especially after she had been removed from his clutches, "You can't say it, can you?"

She jerked her head to the side, "Whatever I feel is inmaterial."

"You're right about that... How much longer do you honestly think that you can play house with Sasuke-kun before Orochimaru-sama takes what is his?" He reminded her that Sasuke was supposed to be used for Orochimaru's next vessel, "You'll be right back where you started when we found you. Lost, and alone."

She bowed her head, bangs falling over her eyes, "Sasuke-sama is stronger than him. He won't be Orochimaru's puppet forever."

"Oh, such a devoted little wifey. But tell me, if what you say is somehow true, do you honestly think that he'll be the boy you fell in love with? Every day, his heart gets darker, so where does that leave you? What will become of my precious Aoi-chan if she stays this path?" He released her, leaving her to think about it.

He was right of course. Where did this leave her?

* * *

Yeah, I'm a girl, so if Sasuke's... Uh... Concern... is a bit off, that's why. I have no idea what a guy would sweat... But that sounds acurate... Right? I have no clue... But yes, it has been a year since Sasuke left Konoha now, making him fourteen-ish, and Aoi about sixteen.


	8. The Snake's Plot

Sasuke entered Orochimaru's room, a blasting coldness and razor-sharp murderous intent meeting him at the door. The snake was in the middle of sealing a letter when the raven arrived, so his back was to the boy. Sasuke was always disgusted when he looked upon his master, but by now, the aversion had simmered to a slight disturbance. Orochimaru, on the other hand, seemed thrilled every time he had entered the room.

"Sasuke-kun, you came." He wasn't surprised at all that he had come, but every single time, he acted like he was, "I was worried that I might have interrupted you and Aoi-chan, but I can see that my timing was perfect, like your body."

"Hn." He grunted, not wanting to say any more than was required.

The pale man smirked, "Sasuke-kun, you've reached an age where you have to think of the future... Have you thought of the future?"

He shook his head, "Only of avenging my clan."

"No, my dear boy, I mean the future generations of this world... I, of course, will transcend time, with you as my vessel, but before that time comes..." He was speaking more to himself than Sasuke at this point, but catching the boy drifting, he continued on for both their benefits, "As a member of such a prominent clan on the verge of extinction, I thought that it would be a shame for the great Uchiha clan to be lost to the world forever, so, I got to thinking - "

"No." Sasuke had no idea where he was going with that, but he didn't like it.

"No? Hm, I thought that maybe since Aoi-chan spent so much time with you, catering to your every need and whim, you might have considered settling for her..." He trailed off.

Sasuke was at a loss for what to say. If he understood correctly, Orochimaru had just asked him to marry Aoi. He liked Aoi, sure, but he had never stopped to consider where this would go. Was marriage an option that he wanted? Aoi was one of the only people he liked or respected, and she took such good care of him, but they were still so young... But Orochimaru was right about one thing at least, he was at the age when he needed to look at those kinds of things, and Aoi had already been married. Age aside, he had his ambitions, and who was he to create a life when all he lived for was taking it? She never said it, nor even hinted, but she probably did want a family. Sasuke wasn't that person though. But he might love her, and even if he didn't, Sasuke wasn't so noble as to let her go. So what did he want?

Orochimaru chuckled, the fine hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck prickling at the unearthly sound, "You should think on it, Sasuke-kun."

"Is that all?" Sasuke was as stoic as ever, though his mind was racing.

The snake shook his head, "You may leave, Sasuke-kun."

Without another sign of recognition, he left the plotting snake behind, another shape materializing from the shadows, "Orochimaru-sama, it is done."

"Excellent," He handed Kabuto the letter.

He took it, but he stood his ground, "Orochimaru-sama, forgive me for asking, but what good is it to make them question their feelings for each other?"

Looking like he was going to strike his sniveling servant, he left the room, walking to the lab to finish his preparations for departure, "Aoi hurt you when she betrayed you for Sasuke-kun, didn't she? And just imagine how much darker his heart will become if he were to be bereft of Aoi. You know as well as I that they love each other, and the sooner they realize that, the more bitter their split will be. And just imagine what will happen if _he_ does buy her?"

Looking down at the letter in his hand, at the name of the addressed, Kabuto smirked in satisfaction, "What a cruel fate."

* * *

Mahwa-hahahaha! Orochimaru knows that the two teens love each other, and now he's getting even! Well, actually, he's corrupting Sasuke further. It's Kabuto that has the satisfaction of revenge on Aoi. Either way, it's looking grim for the two love birds... And just who is this potential mystery buyer? Only time will tell.


	9. Love

Sasuke liked Aoi and Aoi liked Sasuke, but how deep did their feelings run? They respected each other, valued each other, cherished each other, but did they love each other? How much would they give up for the other? Would they give in to each other? Would they die if the other died, would they laugh together, would they cry if the other was hurting? How far would they go, just to see the other smile? What would they give to see the other happy?

Thinking about everything she knew of love, Aoi knew that she would do anything for Sasuke, even if that meant watching the world burn in fire and ash. But in the wake of the destruction, where would she be? Would she be alive, watching safely from he sidelines, loved and protected by Sasuke? Would she be alive, dead on the inside with the knowledge that she had been used? Or would she also be dead? Could it be that this romance was nothing more than a dream?

Remembering everything he had heard of love, Sasuke knew that he would do absolutely anything in his power for Aoi, even if it were impossible. As long as he anything to say about it, she would never be in want of anything, becuase he would give her everything. If she cried, he would be there to wipe away her tears, and if she laughed, he would be there to share her joy. He would love her unconditionally, but would she love him in return?

Sasuke returned to his room, unsurprised to see that Aoi had waited for him, "You're here."

She nodded, "I always will be. Won't I?"

"As long as I have breath in my body, you will be. But will you love me?" He stood inches from Aoi, though it felt as if they both were miles apart and melting together.

"I will... always love you." She smiled, falling into his arms.

Embracing Aoi, Sasuke kissed her under the eye. Responding with a gentle kiss to his jaw, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down. Sitting on top of her, Sasuke found himself kissing her, his tongue winding its way into her mouth. She slid her hands to the front of his robes, untying the shirt.

He looked at her, her blue eyes frightened and round, "What are you...?"

She brushed his lips with her thumb, "I want you to make love to me. Before anything happens, I want you to hold me while we have the time."

Nodding, he undid her obi and pulled her yukata open, watching it slide down her shoulders, cupping over her breasts. Yanking his clothes off, she slathered his chest in kisses, paying close attention to his neck. Yielding to the tingle in his neck, he bent his head down, face falling into her hair. It smelled of jasmine. Expertly knowing every place to make a man weak, Aoi tenderly kissed each as he traced her jawbone down to her collar bone with his lips. Moaning softly, she ran a hand down his abdomen, feeling his muscles tense underneath her hand.

She nodded, holding his neck, "I trust you..."

Pushing the thin yukata from her skin, he looked at her body, never once seeing anything half as beautiful. She was looking away, self-conscious of her body, even though she had no reasons to be in his mind. Kissing the back of her hand, Sasuke ran his hand down Aoi's thigh, sending shivers of ecstasy up and down her spine.

"I love you, Aoi," Sasuke whispered, as if making her some sort of promise.

* * *

I know, this chapter is too much "Would, what, etc, etc..."! And I'm sorry that I skimped out on all the naughty details... I'm very uncomfortable writing that stuff, and honestly, I have no idea how I managed to write the first few chapters! But, moving on, the plot continues with the mysterious buyer! Or will it? Nah, as far as I can tell, it will. Not that that means much in a story I pull out of my ass chapter by chapter... I mean, really, there was no actual plot to start with, but hey, there's kinda one now... Well, I must be going something right with this fic, cuz I seem to have a fairly followed fic.


	10. Thinking of the Future, Thinking of You

Tangled with his lover, Sasuke looked at the ceiling above their heads, the arm that wasn't around Aoi propped underneath his head. Thinking of the future, revenge, and his future in revenge, he was troubled by how she was going to fit into the picture. He was aware of the fact that she would not stand in the way of his ambitions, but he knew that she would have to live with the knowledge that she had let him take not only a life, but the life of his own brother. Not to mention the fact that she would be put in danger from the fight and the outcome, whatever that may be. Then, there was also Orochimaru and Kabuto. She had no ties to them, but they certainly had ties to her, and while it was no hard matter to kill them, the fights might prove harder than he could handle, especially if Kabuto retaliated right away. Were it just him, he wouldn't care about how he fell, so long as he saw his brother die first.

And then there was what Orochimaru was saying earlier, about the future. Sure, they might have yielded for the night, but where was this really going? Was the snake right? Should they take the future in their hands? After all, it would be a shame to let his clan pass into the darkness, but what if this cycle was bound to repeat itself? Maybe it wouldn't in his lifetime, but what if it did? It would destroy Aoi. Speaking of Aoi, would she even be willing to bear his children? Could she live with the fear that they would follow in their father's footsteps? Would she be able to raise them on her own should fate take matters into its own hands?

Meanwhile, while Sasuke weighed his options, Orochimaru was waiting outside of a partially concealed cave, a curtain of moss swaying in the breeze. Stepping out from said entrance was none other than the mysterious buyer, Uchiha Itachi. Looking displeased as ever, he greeted the disguised snake.

"You're either very brave or have no desire to live, Orochimaru." Itachi glared at the older man with disgust, well aware that the body he was speaking to was a fake.

Taking on an air of bravado, he replied, "Now, now, there's no need to fight; I have something that might interest you," He tossed Itachi the letter, continuing as he read, "She certainly seems to interest Sasuke-kun. Aoi-chan really is a pretty little distraction, but a distraction nevertheless."

Maybe it was the letter, or maybe it was the creeper's words, but Itachi found himself making a deal with his enemy...

"...Are you...alright?" Aoi sat up after a few minutes of just laying in Sasuke's arms, looking deep into his onyx eyes as she whispered frightfully, "You're not regretting what we did, are you?"

He brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, smirking, "Baka. I was just thinking."

She frowned, "I'm not stupid. I just worry. Besides, what is there to think about after having sex? Either you regret it, or you think about... Er... forget I said anything."

But with that, his curiosity was piqued, so naturally he wasn't about to just drop the matter, "You think about what? Tell me, what does the insatiable Aoi think of after being intimate?"

There was a far away look in her eyes as she recalled the past, "Pain. And regret. But that was before you, so it barely matters now. It's actually embarrassing to admit, but while I was falling asleep, and even after I woke up, I was thinking about you. Selfish thoughts that would put pressure on a lesser man."

Having the feeling that there was more than one meaning behind her words, he confessed his own dilemmas, "And here I was wondering about whether or not you would consider bearing my children."

Watering instantly, her eyes lit up, "You really think that I'm fit? Oh, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!"

He was about to tell her that he speaking hypothetically, but the rapturous expression on her face at the thought that he had just seriously proposed to her had kept him from speaking. Maybe he just thought that it was inevitable at this stage, or maybe it was the way that things had hit him in that moment, but he quickly came to realize that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to ask for her hand.

As luck would have it, he had not made a miscalculation with the decision, or the timing.

* * *

Holy hell! It took forever to update, didn't it? I'm sorry! Most of the time I was busy with other works, but the past month or so, I just haven't been very motivated. Luckily, that is no longer the case! So, here's hoping for another update in less than half a year or so! As for the mysterious buyer, it was pretty obvious (at least to some of you) as to who it was, so, I figured that it was pointless to keep it a secret.


	11. Alone With The Enemy

Humming a merry little tune under her breath as she scrubbed the dirty wash, Aoi was oblivious to the sound of approaching steps. Considering that it was a ninja world full of ninjas, she should have heard the silent footfalls coming a mile away, but her ignorance to the sound will be attributed to both her good mood and the skill levels of the person watching her work. Mostly to the skills of the one stalking like a feline towards its prey.

Sliding behind the young woman, a young man grabbed her by the mouth, gagging her with a dirty cloth that had been soaked in chloroform. Catching her around the waist before she hit the floor in an unconscious heap, Itachi tossed her over his shoulder and carried her away from Orochimaru's hideout in sheer day light. Kabuto and his master watched the former ANBU remove the girl from their lives, possibly wondering to themselves why Itachi didn't just use the Sharingan on her.

The answers to that were all as simple as they were true: Itachi had figured that there was a chance that his brother had trained the girl to resist the Sharingan, at least to a certain degree, and he knew that even the sharpest blade dulls from disuse. To say in another way, he had to train his body every now and again to keep his skills from rusting. This job was naught but a cakewalk, so it really wasn't much of a test, but there was the slight chance that, because he had snatched the woman personally from her own 'home', Sasuke would come to save her. At least, he would try to.

Sadly, it was a clean swipe, and the weasel was not accosted in the slightest...

Aoi blinked, eyesight still hazy from the sneak attack, and she realized that her wrists and ankles were bound together tightly. Trying to speak, she also found that her mouth had been gagged. Whoever had taken her had really gone old-school. Whoever? She could laugh, as to her it was fairly obvious that this was some twisted game of Orochimaru's, or worse, Kabuto. At least if it were Orochimaru, he would release her back to Sasuke almost immediately, while Kabuto would make her suffer.

"So she woke up. Rise and shine, sweetheart," A man, positively blue and shark-like, grinned at her, his teeth sharp and jagged, "Oi, Itachi!"

If the cloak hadn't been a giveaway to her situation, than Itachi's name certainly sealed the deal. Squirming in her bonds, the rope escape proof even for a ninja, Aoi managed only to tighten her shackles around herself. Laughing at her, Kisame stood aside as a man walked up from the mouth of a dingy cave. The man was beautiful, but she knew just how deadly that he was, and how evil.

Standing over the young woman, Itachi turned a pitiless gaze to her tearstained face, seeing at once how his brother could have fallen for the wench, "I can't have anyone standing in my brother's way, not even a woman."

Managing to at least get the gag out of her mouth, she hissed at Sasuke's brother, "You can kill me and take everything good from your brother again, but he's stronger than you give him credit for! He will kill you, and he will rise above all of your evil, and he will be the man that he was always meant to be. You can't stop Sasuke, because it's his destiny to defeat you!"

Not removing his eyes from the girl, he spoke to his partner, "Kisame, leave us."

Thinking that he was going to beat the girl to within an inch of her life in the most brutal of ways, the shark regretfully obeyed and departed. It would have been a real treat to see Itachi at work, but Kisame knew that Itachi would first play head games with his prey, and by now that had gotten very old to him. Don't know how it could have, but it did.

* * *

See, I told ya that I'd update sooner this time! So, buh-nah-na-nah! Aoi stands up for her man, and Itachi wants to be alone with her...? Hm.


	12. Memories of a Madman

Standing over the woman who was gallantly holding to her faith in Sasuke, Itachi scoffed at her "touching" words. Inside his cunning head, however, he was grateful to her for not only standing firmly by his brother's side, but for loving him unconditionally the way that she did. He may have only just met this girl, but he could see quite clearly by the look in her eyes that she was indeed a good thing for his troubled little brother. Unfortunately, Itachi knew that Sasuke couldn't afford to be happy if he were to survive in this world, not yet at least. Such is the fate of the Uchiha.

Itachi made sure that Kisame's chakra really was gone before speaking in a hushed yet razor-sharp tone, "You are sorely mistaken if you think that you are going to be reunited with my brother. Even if he comes after you, he won't succeed in rescuing you."

She let out a small gasp as he closed the space between them...

Sasuke returned to his room, expecting to find Aoi waiting for him, but in her place, he was greeted instead by Kabuto. Wearing a triumphant smirk on his shrewd face, glasses gleaming sinisterly, he gloated to the boy, "Looking for something? A certain little," He paused, thinking up the cruelest thing to call her, or at the very least the thing that would most anger Sasuke, "whore?"

If Sasuke had ever looked angry, it was nothing compared to the look on his face at that moment, "You don't ever call her that."

"Oh? Did she already put her filthy lies into your naive little head? Don't feel bad - she's lied to better men than us, I'm sure." He watched Sasuke, gauging his reaction with the greatest attention possible, if only to corrupt the teen further, "Aoi always has been a gifted liar. First, she makes you fall in love with her, then, just when she makes you believe that she loves you, she takes what she wants and leaves you high and dry. Just as she did last night."

"... You're wrong." Sasuke knew that Kabuto was probably only trying to bait him into some kind of sick game, drawing on his own account of what he considered to be personal experience. He knew that Aoi wasn't anything like what the bastard was trying to paint her to be.

Kabuto seemed to sense the Uchiha's train of thought, as he was quick to elaborate, "Can you really be so sure? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she just suddenly vanish? And after finally coaxing you into her overlapping webs of pleasure and madness... The taste of her really can't be compared to any other, and with the way she trembles, it seems to make her absolutely unique. I've had many lovers in the past, but none of them came half as close to satisfying me the way she did."

At this point, logic began to take a back seat to jealousy in Sasuke's mind, though his heart tried to resist the doubt that now seeped into his mind, "..."

Kabuto grinned, lost in his own memories of Aoi, though sadly Sasuke had no way of knowing how real any of them were, "I can still remember the way she would trail butterfly kisses from my neck to my loins, working with the skills of a well-trained bride. Her husband must have taught her well. And how could I ever forget the delectable shade of pink-"

"Shut up." Sasuke was positively fuming now, furious by Kabuto's words.

Without further ado, he left the bespectacled ninja behind to speak to Orochimaru, to demand to see Aoi right away. But Orochimaru was waiting for him just outside the hallway, seemingly already aware of Aoi's disappearance, "Sasuke-kun, I've heard the news from the servants... Aoi is gone. She left without a trace."

But the boy refused to believe that she would willing leave, even if he was nagged by suspicion, "Where is she?"

Yellow eyes slitting in mirth, the snake told him exactly where Aoi was to be found, "He took her."

Sasuke didn't need to ask who the older man was talking about to know who had taken Aoi. Itachi was a dead man.

* * *

Anyone catch the Inuyasha reference? Speaking of Inuyasha, not that they're exactly connected, I would like to thank KagomeUchiha101, LoneWolfPack, SweetzJunkie, Kaulitz-Twins-Fangirl, fedwvu, Larn555, Ninja99, BadRomace96, Peachie-Trishie, TaintedDarkInuShemeeko, and The Only Sane One for reviewing my work thus far! I hope that you all, and all of my other readers, continue to read and enjoy my story!


	13. A Bitter Fate

Sasuke was pacing around his room, conflicted by the knowledge that his brother had stolen something important from him and the sense to know that he still wasn't ready to engage his brother in combat, yet. He every well couldn't do anything, because not only was Aoi in danger, but if he didn't act, that would mean that Itachi won. Or did it? He began to wonder what would become of Aoi if he didn't go after her right away...

She would be outraged and most likely hurt, and she wouldn't be wrong to feel that way, but wouldn't she be more grieved if Sasuke had faced his brother unprepared? But then that raised the question of what Itachi would do to her. Would he torture her until Sasuke came after her, would he kill her if too much time had passed, or would he...? The possibilities bombarded his fragile young mind, each worse than the last. Aoi was a fighter, but she had no hope against fighting Itachi...

Her skin quivered as his finger brushed against her cheek, the memories of her torrid past flooding over her as their skin made contact. It was not by his doing either, though had it been his wish to make her suffer through her past, he easily could have drawn upon her experiences. What brought the repressed memories to the surface was the foreign feeling of a complete stranger touching her in such a familiar way. Or maybe it was just her body reacting to a touch other than Sasuke's... But after such a short time, was that even possible? She believed that it was.

"Arigato, for having faith in my Outo. But," Itachi turned her head so that she was looking away, all with one finger, "you can't be in the picture. You don't have to die, but if you love my brother as much as you claim to, it might be a better fate for you."

Not see Sasuke ever again? She could keep her life, but if she did, she could never see him again? And the only alternative was death? Could this really be the only reason that she had been taken? Besides, what could she even say? To live would be disgraceful, not to mention that she couldn't keep herself from Sasuke if she could help it, but to die for someone that she had only started to see? She did love him, but things were in too much of an early stage to say that she would die for him. It be almost like planning college for a week old fetus in a cancer patient. Things could collapse on their own at any given time, so what kind of sick choice was this? But on the other hand, she really did love him, and to even question that she would give her life for his completely undermines the progress that they had made.

Holding out her neck for him, she spoke with pure acidic loathing, "Then you'll have to kill me. I know that it's crazy to put my life on the line like this, but I know him like no one else ever has, including you, and he is worth it, senseless as this is. I love him."

"Love?" The word was almost less than a whisper as it passed his lips, but she heard him repeat it, his voice faltering almost as if he had forgotten the word and its meaning, "You really care enough for him to just give me your life? You would do anything in your power to save him, wouldn't you?" He was moved by her and her heart, "... Everything I do, I do for his sake, but everything you've done, you do for him. Hehaha," And he started to laugh, just like that, at the sad irony of their situation.

Taking a deep breath, she moved into a kneeling position so that he could cleave her head from her neck, eyes dry. She had no tears for herself, only for the boy that she loved, more than anything...

* * *

Wow, that's pretty intense, huh? But I wonder, what will all of you have to say about this?


	14. Looking At You, Looking To The Future

What a life he had chosen for his brother... He had wanted what was best for him, but even the best intentions are paved with mistakes... Maybe he should have killed him as well as the rest of the clan, but even knowing what he knew of him now, Itachi knew that he couldn't go back in time and kill him, even if he had that chance to do it all again... He loved his little brother too much.

But he wasn't the only one who loved him, was he? No, Sasuke had friends in the village, friends Itachi knew would be willing to take him back with open arms, if only the raven could see the error of his ways and make amends in his life. He had Naruto, his best friend that wad risking all to save him the path he was walking, and Itachi knew that Naruto would do what was best for his little brother. And then, there was the woman... Aoi... She had been willing to give Sasuke her all, to support him in whatever way he wanted, which wasn't exactly a good thing, but Itachi had hoped that if given the chance, she would help him to see the light, to make him a better man... The man that he was supposed to be... The man that he would have been if it hadn't been for his folly...

"Get up." The weasel grabbed her by the forearm, jerking Aoi up from the ground with enough force to make her stumble instead of right herself.

And stumble she did. Tripping ever so gracefully on her own two feet, she fell forward, knocking Itachi down with her. Winded, she landed on top of him, his knee jabbing painfully into her ribcage, but she didn't feel the pain, not her own at least, as her face fell paraell to his own. Looking deep into his eyes, she saw the tortured soul inside, the soul that had done so much only to villianize himself to those that he loved most...

And he was simply astounded that he had been knocked from his feet, as the last time he had hit the floor was... well, he couldn't remember if he ever had hit the ground before. Klutzy as it was, he was impressed by her for that feat. At least, he would have been, had he not locked eyes with her, seeing the horrors that she had endured, just for a place to call home. He had had no idea that anyone could feel such pain, a pain that could probably never be eased, no matter how happy she seemed to be. Her words spoke of confidence, but her eyes told him another story...

Could it be that he wasn't as alone in hell as he had thought?

Could it possibly be that she wasn't the only one to feel horrible for things that she couldn't help but to do?

She closed her eyes, shutting out the image of the man straddling her, and he looked away from her as if the very sight of her burned him, both thinking of the same person, the person that had brought them to this place in the first place... Whatever that thing, that moment, that thought they had connected, that look was, it was a fluke. A dangerous fluke that couldn't happen again. A fluke that wouldn't happen ever again.

"Sasuke will probably come looking for me..." She trailed off, looking in the opposite direction that he had been looking.

"Unless he knows that he doesn't stand a chance against me... For now." He added almost as an afterthought.

She chanced looking at him, "Then what will you do with me?"

* * *

Bananananaananananana~! Okay, maybe that was shorter than I had meant it to be, but whateves! And it was only a moment, not "oh, I instantly love you for no reason", alright? So no "what a whore, first she declares her love for Sasuke, then she dumps him a second later for Itachi", yeah? Aoi loves Sasuke, alright?


	15. Slave Again

No, he couldn't go after her, no matter how much he wanted to or how disappointed she would feel that he didn't, Sasuke knew that he couldn't go after Aoi, not yet, not so long as he was the same has he was now. He knew that Itachi might kill her, and the thought of never seeing her again filled him with horror, but he knew in his heart that she would be more miserable if he had risked everything to save her. Besides, cruel as it might sound, he had lost everything once before at his brother's hand, so he doubted that this would be any different.

"What will you do with me now?" Aoi repeated the question, gently, "Itachi?" She tested his name out, finding it more familiar now, "You do have a plan, don't you?"

Itachi looked at her, ropes of her black hair sprawled out like spilled ink on the floor, her round eyes looking to him for answers, just as his brother used to look at him...

Shaking himself from his reverie, he began to think about what it was that he could do with her. He couldn't return to to Sasuke, and the Akatsuki watched almost every move he made, so what could he do with her? She had no home to go to, and if she had had returned to Sasuke in the proper context, he would know instantly that he would never let her escape, so what could he do with her? Hm, he could also use a transformation jutsu on her, but that would only be enough to get her out of this place...

"You could use me as a sex-slave." She looked so serious as she suggested it, but she surely couldn't have meant it.

But he could tell that she did, "What would that accomplish?"

She smirked, glad to see that she was actually a step ahead, at least for the moment, "I've spent more years than I care to remember catering to the sick bastards and their sadistic fetishes, so it should be easy enough for us to fake, so all you have to do is tell them that I'm-"

"Mine." He looked at her as he said that, but quickly looked away again, "As long as I take the proper precautions, this could work until we can make a better plan."

She nodded, "Exactly."

* * *

Hm, pretty interesting, huh?


	16. Fishy Business

Six months had gone by since Aoi had been taken by Itachi, and in all that time, she had heard or seen no trace of Sasuke. Itachi had planned it so that, were Sasuke coming after her, he would catch them by surprise, and then Aoi could manage to escape in the confusion, but Sasuke never came. She was hurt, hurt so deeply that she would cry herself to sleep at night, at least on the nights that sleep would come, and yet, she had expected this to happen. She knew Sasuke, so she knew that he had felt unprepared to fight, that he thought that she would be upset if he had risked his life knowing that he had no chance, but it still hurt her, and it hurt worse than ever could have guessed. But she wasn't completely miserable these last six months...

Itachi didn't speak much, but that didn't mean that they weren't communicating. In a short matter of hours, they had manged to agree on a form silent gestures, and in weeks, they had moved into a simple language of looks and facial expressions. And in a pinch, she had agreed to allow him to use his Sharingan on her so they could confer, but luckily it had not yet come to that, though the first day that he had taken her with him, it had almost come to that.

But none of that changed the fact that she missed Sasuke, and they both knew that...

"Nothing much going on, is there?" Aoi kicked a pebble into the lake where she, Itachi, and Kisame were hiding around in their search for the Tailed Beasts, or 'tailsies' as she called called them, much to a certain water ninja's annoyance, "Nothing to fight, crank-o's getting the food, so I can't fight with him, and you're probably not even listening to me... Guess I should shut up so you can think, huh?"

Itachi, indeed lost in thought, slit open one eye, gazing thoughtfully at the young woman playing boredly at the edges of the sky-blue water, thinking that she was almost like a child, or a lost puppy, "I was saving it, but if you really need something to do-"

"Itachi! I'm surprised at you! You, of all people, using your jutsu for such a pointless endeavor!" She jumped up from her sitting position, wiping the finger that had been stirring the water on the back of her right leg, "But you're so kind for offering to use your genjustu for my entertainment! Actually," She added as an afterthought, "That would be a great way to teach the children - The children you could have way in the future with a woman who isn't me."

He rolled his eyes at her, "You talk too much. And that wasn't what I was going to do, not entirely..." He sighed, "They might not be what you'd call happy memories, but if you want to, I wanted to show you how Sasuke used to be."

Realizing that he had meant for her to witness everything he had of his brother, both good and bad - which the bad far outweighed the good in the older brother's mind - Aoi would get to learn everything about Sasuke that she didn't know. Ok, well, maybe not everything, but she would learn so much more than she had already known...

"I appreciate the offer, thank you, but it just feels wrong to intrude on your memories of Sasuke... They are your private belongings, the last real connection you have to your brother... As much as I miss him, I could never do that to you... You deserve more than that, and I know that you would disagree, but trust me, you really do deserve more than you have been given. You both do."

Smiling at her, he shook his head, glossy black hair falling from his shoulder to his back, "No, you're wrong." He held up a hand before she could argue, "The three of us deserve better."

She returned his smile, "You're right."

"And you're making me sick!" Kisame cut into the conversation, slapping down a a cod big enough for the three of them, "Now why don't you make yourself useful and get to work?" he turned to Itachi, "You let her get away with too much."

Sticking her tongue out at the shinobi, Aoi began to bustle around their camp, preparing the meal. She couldn't hear them speaking over the roar of the fire Itachi had produced in the small, clay oven that had been left over from another ninja's stay in the natural encampment. Kisame watched her working for a few seconds, making sure that she wasn't slacking, though when she had something to do, like cook, she did it.

Turning to his partner in crime in a confiding manner, the rouge water shinobi tossed the young maid a dirty look that she missed, "That girl is a distraction... You need to just bang her brains out and get rid of her now, before you start to develop feelings for her."

Kisame almost never used her name, her referred to her in a specific manner if he could help it.

"..." Itachi looked at his teammate, not giving his words a second thought, "You have to have a heart in order to care about anything, let alone anyone."

Scoffing at the former Leaf shinobi, Kisame turned from the other man doubtfully, "Whatever you say..."

* * *

Another chapter for you. my kind readers! And a poll! Now, I may or may not lean towards the winning side, but I will certainly take it into account!


	17. Question Of Resentment

Itachi had given up everything he had that fateful night... Everything. He had lost his little brother, his family, his friends, his village, and any chance to have anything other than pure misery. It was true that his intentions were for the best, but for the evil he had done, he felt that it was only fair that solitude was his penitence. Why should he allow himself any emotion after what he had done? But that was before he had met Aoi.

She rarely spoke of her past, if only because it was her way of looking forward, but he had still been told her story, and it had made him wonder why she, an innocent, had had to pay such a high price just for being alive. She had done nothing to deserve her fate, and still horrible things kept happening to her... And yet, she had held her head high and continued down the path laid before her feet, taking her punishment. Aoi was truly the kindest person he had ever met, kinder even than his mother, whom had never harmed anything to the best of his knowledge, and she had unwittingly helped him to see that no matter who you are or what you did, suffering existed - it was just a matter of how you handled it.

Sasuke was truly blessed to have a woman like Aoi...

After dinner was finished, the three companions laid on the grass under the starry sky to sleep away a meal who's only complaint was that it was cooked a tad too long, Aoi gazed at the moon, a sliver of a smile, and she cried silently to herself. Would she ever be allowed to be happy, or was she eternally doomed to lose it all, just when she thought that she could be happy? Even things now, without Sasuke, weren't so bad, and every time that she cried, she felt horribly, as if she were slapping Itachi for the kindness that he had been showing her - kindness she knew that couldn't have been easy to muster up. He had had a tough life, and what was more, he had chosen it for himself. She just wished that he would crucifying himself for things that he had made amends for the minute that he had done them.

Itachi wasn't so bad as he tried to put off...

"Aoi?" His voice drifted over the damp grass, soft enough to not disturb Kisame, but rough enough for hr to know that he seriously had something to convey to her.

"Yes?" Her voice was quieter than his naturally, so she spoke at only a slightly gentler pitch than normal, "Itachi, is something wrong?"

He paused before answering, "No... Aoi, if you could go back right now, would you look back?"

Taken aback by the strange inquiry, she sat up, propped on her elbows, so that she could look at him, "What kind of question is that?"

"I mean, " He shook his head, rolling from his back so that his position mirrored her own, "do you resent me for taking you?"

"Oh." She wasn't really sure where that was going, but a part of her was a little let down for reasons that she couldn't explain, "Of course I don't resent you! How could I, when you've given me absolutely no reason to? Do I wish that I could go back? Of course I don't... I mean," She blinked at him stupidly for a second, shocked that those words had come out of her mouth, even more surprised that they were true, "I hated it there, so why would I want to go back? But I do miss Sasuke," She said, unsure about who she was trying to reassure more, "I love him..."

Training more intensely than ever before, hoping that Aoi was still alive to be rescued and returned to his side, Sasuke smirked in satisfaction as he felt the results of his training beginning to take shape. He wasn't quite there yet, but if he kept working at this rate...

* * *

First off, I wanted to thank you guys again for reviewing, and I wanted to especially thank those of you who actually voted! Actually, I think that that's all that I wanted to say for this chapter... I think...


	18. Dream A Dirty Little Dream Of Me

Falling asleep at long last only to wake again in the middle of the night, Itachi groaned, not immediately aware of the whimpering that had woken him in the first place. Well, the whimpering was only half of what had woken him to be perfectly honest. His dreams, never the most pleasant to begin with, had taken an extremely unexpected turn when, after standing over the mangled bodies of his parents as usual, blood running endlessly from his hands to the floor, red tidal waves of plasma blocking escape from his childhood home, there was a sudden flash of lightening, and in one blinding moment, the bodies at his feet had changed from his parents into that of Sasuke, but instead of Shisui, it was Aoi cowering at his feet, her throat slit. But odder still, not only was she still clinging to life, but she was smiling up at him, mouth dripping crimson that twisted and spiraled down, down, down, wrapping her bare body in wet ribbons of scarlet.

"Itachi," She had said his name so softly, he thought that he might have been imagining it, "Kiss me. Kiss me with the passion that was sapped from you when you killed yourself. I'm not pure," She stood up, wiping away one of the countless rivulets of blood with her finger before licking it away, leaving her hand lingering sensually by her mouth as if to prove her point, "I never really was, but I want you to take me... Take me, as I've never been taken before, and hold me until the day that I die... Hold me until I explode into star dust, and never let me go."

It had been a dream, but it had seemed so real that he had to look around at Aoi, fully clothed and without a single drop of blood on her, and seeing that she wasn't as he had dreamt her to be, he had felt such a wave of relief that he had momentarily forgotten the sound that had woken him up in the first place. He might have completely forgotten it, had he not looked at Aoi to see her freezing, arms clamped tightly around her chest to lessen her shivers.

Removing his cloak, Itachi gently placed it over her shoulders like a blanket, and just as he had moved to turn back from her, her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist, tugging lightly. Reminded of his brother, earlier thoughts cast aside at the natural innocence of her face, he smiled at her even though she was too tired to see it, laying by her side on his back. Almost instantly, she was wrapped around him, head nuzzled against his shoulder, arms spread across his chest, and her knees brushed his hip, her butt peeking from under the borrowed material.

As Itachi nodded off in Aoi's arms, she tumbled into another dream, vastly different than what she had been seeing just moments before...

Rain pounded at the earthy-brown ground, softening the dirt until it became mud, but still she sat in the middle of the road, as cold as a statue and as immovable as a mountain. Her dark hair billowed with the wind, obscuring all of her face but one one blue eye, a heavy ring of black and purple almost swelling it shut, a small bead of silver rolling down her cheek to mingle with the blood drenching her hands.

That was no dream, but part of a memory... That was the day that her unborn child had been forcibly ripped from her body...But it was different this time...

A figure with hair even inkier than her own stood at her back, kneeling behind her in the mud, one arm reaching up for her neck, the other covering her arm, fingers locking between her own. She couldn't see who was behind her, but she could feel a cool forehead pressing against the nape of her neck, and something wet rolled down her neck, collecting momentarily at her collarbone before falling away with the rain. Tears. Just as she realized that the mystery figure was crying, the water all turned thick and syrupy, taking on a maroon tint. Blood.

Uttering her name like a chant the entire time, the figure spoke at last, after what felt like hours, "Aoi, it should have been mine... I'm so sorry, but I had to kill it. I know that you've already lost so much, but I could never live with myself knowing that you were going to have my brother's baby... Hush, my love, you don't have to cry anymore, because I killed him too. You know that you're mine, that you will always be mine." The man suddenly pulled them backwards so that they could look each other in the face, and though she had been expecting to see Sasuke, she was unsurprised to see Itachi, "You might not see it now, but I know that in time you will... We were meant to be."

* * *

Um, I wasn't sure how to say it with the way that I have it worded, but Aoi is sleeping curled up in the fetal position. Oh. My. Damn. This chapter... it was actually... GOOD? Wow, I can honestly say that this is some of my better work. Maybe not my best, but this is really up there! They might be asleep, but at least on an unconscious level, they are starting to realize that they have feelings for the other... Really messed up feelings, but true feelings nonetheless. And its more than just sex!


	19. Boiling Point

Burning mercilessly through the skin, warming the bones with dragon fire, the blazing white sun pierced through sleeping eyes to simultaneously awaken both Itachi and Aoi, the later of whom was now almost completely on top of the former, his cheek resting against her head. A heavier sleeper than Itachi, Aoi took a millisecond longer to register their positions than he did, but after such vivid dreams, neither was entirely sure if this was real or yet another vision of the imagination, so they merely looked at the other, trying to figure it out.

"Itachi?" She ventured cautiously, under the assumption that if this were a dream, his reaction wouldn't have been normal.

He figured that it was really her by the timid tremor of her hesitance, also assuming that if this had been a dream, she would have been more aggressive, "Not a dream."

She shook her head, half relieved and half disappointed to find that she had woken up, "Nope, not a dream." Realizing that she was practically straddling him, she rolled off on to the ground, cloak falling from her shoulders in a heap, but that was something that neither particularity cared about at that moment, and she was blushing, "Umm, why was I just...?"

Seeing that she wasn't sure how to finish the question, he finished it for her, in the form of an answer, "You were cold, so I gave you my cloak."

Indeed, it had still been wrapped around her shoulders when she had awoken, but that didn't really explain why he had been pinned under her... Unless she had somehow asked him to stay with her, "Is that all?"

He shook his head, "You asked me to stay, in your own way."

Aoi had thought as much, "So, how did you sleep?"

He nearly snorted, confused by the guilt and other, more mysterious feelings that his dream had invoked, "... ...I've been better. What about you?"

"Me?" They had had the manners to ask each other that every morning, and yet she was acting as if he had never asked her such an outrageous question before, "Oh, you know... It was a night... There were good parts to my dreams, and bad. A few great parts," Her mind flickered involuntarily to a moonlit gazebo, her body twisting in a complicated tango of passion, Itachi pressing against her so hard that she thought that she would shatter, "But mostly betrayal. I know that it could never happen in real life, but..."

She trailed off, realizing that she had gone into greater detail of her dreams than she usually did. Understanding, he reached out to her and placed her hand over hers, "Aoi, I know that you love my brother."

She smiled weakly, looking as if she were on the verge of tears, "Then why do I have these feelings for you?"

Aoi wasn't always the coolest in these kinds of situations, but she did try her best, and he knew that. He also knew that she must have truly been at odds with herself just to yield like that. But so was he...

She loved Sasuke with all of her heart, but Itachi understood her in ways that he never could. It didn't help any that he had abandoned her to this position, leaving her to develop these feelings... Feelings that she couldn't completely understand, but that she yearned to accept with all of her heart... Hm, Itachi was like her best friend, the kind that she could see marrying, while Sasuke made her deliriously euphoric, able to withstand any suffering...

He had been content to live his life in exile, free of any extra entanglements, but his plans had come under heavy fire when he met the young woman willing to die for love... Aoi was like no one he had ever met before, kind, compassionate, understanding, easy to talk to, beautiful, and just the right amount of fragile... He had really come to care for her, but how could he dare to not only be happy for himself, but steal away the woman that his brother loved? Itachi had already ruined his little brother's life in order to protect him, and he had refused to do it again, especially for his own gain, but it was easier to make that promise to himself than to actually keep it...

Before either of them had known what was happening, they found themselves in each other's arms, Aoi weeping freely, torn between her love for both brothers, Itachi increasingly conflicted by guilt and his desire to be happy...

It felt so wrong to hurt Sasuke in this way, but the feel of lips on lips had never felt better, their hearts longing for more, even as their minds tried to pry them apart. But being the gentler soul, Aoi was the first to come to her senses, grudgingly pulling away, even though every fiber of her being had told her to never let go of him.

Looking and feeling more distraught than ever thought possible, Aoi turned from Itachi, yanking her hand back, "I'm sorry..." Springing up, she ran from the clearing, sobbing over her shoulder, "I can't do this..."

* * *

Boom! Please, for the love of all that is holy (and unholy), review!


	20. Life Goes On, So Must The Heart

Tripping over her own two feet in her haste and stumbling in various roots obscured by tears, Aoi took a nasty spill as she tried, in vain, to outrun her problems, landing awkwardly on her back. Shooting up her leg like angry fire, her nerves crackled and spasmed so intensely, she couldn't help but to scream out in agony, even though she knew that Itachi would hear and no doubt come to collect her. She was no medic, but she could tell that she had twisted her ankle.

And she was right about Itachi - He was at her side almost instantly, and even though he appeared to be his completely stoic self, she knew his face well enough to see tattletale signs of worry. It was obvious by the determined set of his shoulders that he felt deep shame for kissing her, even though she was kissing him back, and so now he was trying to put up a wall to pretend that it had never happened, all in the interest in protecting them both. Wordlessly, maybe even soundlessly, he scooped her up from the knees and lower back, carrying her back to their encampment, gingerly setting her down on a level section of earth so that he could examine her leg and do what was in his power. No matter what had happened between them, it wouldn't do to have any dead weight...

"So is this how it's going to be now?" They had been silent until he began to wrap gauze around her ankle, and though she was still frazzled by everything, there was no malice or resentment in her tone, maybe just a morose tiredness, "I don't want to hurt you anymore..."

"Hurt me?" He was baffled that she was still concerned about him, especially like that, but then again, he knew all too well that it wasn't easy to just lock away one's feelings, "Aoi, I'm the one that's hurting you," He sighed, pausing midway through the roll, "Can't you see that you're better off not knowing me?"

Shaking her head, her blue eyes sparkled with tenderness, "But I do know you, and I wouldn't change that for the world." In spite of everything she actually smiled at him (at least, he assumed that the strange look on her face was her smiling underneath a wince), "You suffer so much, but you can't fix all the world's wrongs on your own. You're just one man."

Resuming work on her leg, a part of him was secretly glad that they were talking this out, odd as it was, "Neither of us is perfect, but at least you can try to be a better person than what you already are-"

"Pull the other one. You might see me as some ray of light in the darkness, and maybe I really am to you, but I really am mixed up - too mixed up to be some heavenly being. You can't deny it, not honestly," She began to count off her faults on her fingers, though she felt that it would have been impossible to count them all, "I chose revenge, I went back to Orochimaru, even after I had an out, I would hurt myself, I was married when I was still practically a kid... And I fell for you, even though I love someone else. If that's not the definition of messed up, then you had better tell me what is."

"Refusing to be happy when I could have done so without any guilt," He returned her smile, despite the range of terrible things that he was feeling, "But when I finally think about it, it has to come at such a high price."

The next thing she had to say had to be said, even though she knew that it would probably upset Itachi, "We've both done so much for him - but do I really owe him? Of course I love him, but you see me every night, crying away because he abandoned me. I know that he's waiting until he has a chance against you, but he could have at least tried to track me down... To verify that I'm still alive..." Her voice faltered, "I know this sounds terrible, but I can't help but to be bitter for being left to what he would consider to be your mercy. If he really loved me, he would have found a way to see me... Wouldn't you?"

"Aoi," Itachi knew that her question was rhetorical, but that didn't change the fact that they both already knew the answer to that, "Be reasonable."

"Fine. I'll say it simply: You like me and I like you, but we're both being held back by the same person - a person who probably won't even show himself until several months from now. So while we wait for him, we'll just wait in agony, watching each other with the knowledge that we care about the other. Sounds like a great plan." She snapped.

Exasperated, he felt that might as well already be a couple with this fight, "What else is there?"

"We could try!" She shouted, "I know that I'm torn between my feelings for the both of you, but I'm only human! No matter how much experience I might have, I'm only a teenager! Besides, its not like I'm suggesting anything serious... All I'm saying is that we deserve a chance to know what we could be..."

Itachi knew that she had no malicious intentions, no desire to betray, and what he knew even more than that was that she was right - they did owe it to themselves to see where this could take them...

* * *

For some official business, I wanted to thank KagomeUchiha101 for the reviews. I know that it might sound strange, but every little word helps! And unofficially, I just wanted to say rubber ducky dance! That is all.


	21. His Reasons

Sasuke stood with his back to the rugged stone wall, sweat beading off his forehead in glistening sheets. Karin was by his side, fussing over the state of his left arm, bloodied and almost split in two by his own broken blade, but he paid her no more attention than he normally did. He was, as always, focused only on Itachi, on seeking revenge on the man that had taken everything from him. A small part of him was thinking of Aoi, the time that they had spent together, the embraces, the secrets... everything that they had ever shared. He never would have guessed in a million years that it would vanish instantly, never thought for a second that Itachi would have been the one to steal her away... He always thought that it would have been Kabuto, or even Orochimaru, who would have taken her from him, not his brother...

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin shrieked with concern, unzipping her lavender jacket and presenting him with her healing abilities, simultaneously pulling him back to the present.

He shot her a glare that could have turned a lesser girl to stone, only causing her to flinch, but he took her up on her offer to heal, knowing that if he left his arm unattended for too much longer, the consequences could have been severe, "Hn."

"Hm," She giggled suggestively after he had finished, "It feels so good, I wish you'd never stop ~ Oh, that's right," She darkened instantly, "It's because of that other woman... the one who left and broke your heart... Sasuke-kun, you're too cool to worry about the likes of some heart-breaker who left you in the dust! I mean, it's been seven months, so she's probably a corpse, rotting away in the dirt where she belongs."

He had never raised a hand to a woman unless she interfered with his plans, or she had deserved it, but Karin was caught in a death-choke before he even registered what had been said, "Don't you ever talk about Aoi like that again. I don't care how useful you are - I will kill you."

She nodded, eyes wide, frightened by this side of Sasuke that she had never seen before. Unremorsefully, he let her go, turning around and leaving the training room, stopping for a second before he actually left. She thought that he was about to address her, but he only threw his sword into the wall, the remainder of the blade sinking into the stone as if it were jello, the blade submerged to the hilt.

Mind wandering from his brother to the woman he cared deeply for (thanks to the conversation with Karin, who was just as annoying as Sakura had been), he stormed to his room at the far end of the lair, flinging himself down on his lumpy, poorly-made bed, angry black eyes glittering like the endless pits of hell at the ceiling. Aoi never would have upset him half this much, but if Aoi had been there, he probably won't be this fired up in the first place. If she had never been abducted, Aoi would have known exactly how to treat him right now, rushing to his side, cradling his head in her lap as he cooled off, her hand gently stroking him with soothing motions.

They had only shared the one night together, but he knew that he loved her, truly loved her, not the sort of love that guys claimed to have for a woman before leaving her shortly after they had been intimate. They had known each other for years, gazing passed the pain and bullshit to really learn who the other one was. She knew him, he knew her, and at the end of the day, they still loved each other, so it was only natural that he would have proposed to her.

Plagued by guilt at the memory of his proposal and later refusal to chase after Aoi, he thought about why it was that he didn't go after her himself. It was one of the hardest decisions he had ever made, but he honestly felt as if it were the right thing to do, though admittedly at times he questioned if it really was for the best. When Aoi had been snatched away, Sasuke immediately knew that he was too weak to personally go after Aoi, and when he had tried to send a summoned snake to track her down, he suspected that the ruthless fate it met (he could tell that it had died) had been at either Kabuto's or Orochimaru's hand, for one way or another, he knew that one of them was involved with Aoi's kidnapping. He had tried to follow her, but the trail had quickly gone cold, leaving him with absolutely nothing to go from.

Besides, he knew that if he had managed to find her, to verify her status, he would no doubt spring into a fight he was not yet prepared for, which would have done no one any good. Hateful as his soul was of Itachi, he knew that he had to play this game with intelligence, and unfortunately, sacrifice. It wasn't that he was giving her away, Sasuke had merely sacrificed everything else to protect her from what he felt would be a greater pain. Better that she should hate him then to lose him, especially when losing him would have been due to his feelings for her...

* * *

Oh. My. Glob. I totally forgot that I had Sasuke propose to Aoi (way back in chapter 10)! Do you see what happens when you write chapter by chapter? You forget things because of the excitement you get in the current story... Dammit, this really throws a wrench into my plans... Or does it? We'll just have to see! Anyways, I'm glad to hear that this story is entertaining! I really do worry about how I handle things, if I convey my message properly, and the general likeability/believability of the current chapter. I probably care more about my reader's approval than I should, but without readers, can it really be said that I have written anything at all?


	22. Another Time, Another Place

A month had passed since Aoi and Itachi had decided to discover how deeply they cared for each other, to self-startling results. It had been a little bit strange (to say the least) for them to transition from friends to more than that, but once things had a semblance of normalcy (normal was impossible between the two of them, but they could care less about that type of thing anyway), there was a spiritual (not yet physical) bond between the two of them that could neither be denied nor shaken easily... It wasn't impenetrable, but it wasn't doomed to fall away at the first signs of danger either...

They had always spent their time together since he found himself in charge of her custody, but it was different now then it was before, and yet somehow exactly the same, a twin-like sense bonding them, making them feel at times as if they had been born at the same time, never once apart for more than a second... It made no sense, but they fit together like a three dimensional ying and yang.

Yet it wasn't perfect. Being in the early stages of new love everything seemed intensified, nothing wrong for more than a couple hours, at which point all would be forgiven, but that didn't mean that there were no disagreements, no sense of wrongness. At the most random of times, there would be something little that set the other off, forcing forward the realization that neither one was completely without flaw...

And then there was Sasuke - he was matter all on his own. Itachi didn't breath the same way that he did, or Aoi was too much like his little brother at times because of her youth, or something insignificant like that. If only all of the problems the absent Uchiha brought were so fickle... Aoi still felt anguish over him, about what she was doing and how it had ended, and Itachi himself wasn't untouched by the remorse of stealing away the one woman he thought could have been perfect for the wayward boy. Both felt deep shame, guilt tearing away at everything in them not seen by the naked eye, yet they couldn't stay away from each other if they had tried...

"Chi-chi, " Aoi was curled up with her head on his lap as he studied (he was always studying in one way or another, and for what ever it was, she had the sense not to ask for fear that she wouldn't like the answer), "Do you think that we still would have met under different circumstances in another life?"

Used to interruptions, though still none too happy about it, he laid the ancient scroll down by his side as gingerly as he could, shooting her an inquisitive look, curious as to what brought that on, "If this had been a different life, if we were different people? Is that you mean, or is that your backwards way of asking how things would be between us if a certain person wasn't a part of our lives?"

She looked away, playing with the tassel on her sleeve, "Both, I guess."

He rolled his eyes, still finding this act slightly adorable, if not partially annoying, "...If this isn't more than some fleeting dream... No," He shook his head, dark hair tumbling from his shoulder to tickle her face, "No matter what, I think that there is a very great probability that we would meet... As for Sasuke... He would always be a part of the story, I think, weather he'd be my brother or yours. It seems as if the three of us are stuck together."

"...Probably." She nodded, tucking his free hair back behind his ear, a smile on her face.

* * *

Translation note/Nickname note:

Aoi calls Itachi "Chi-chi", one kanji for "home", as in one's own, and the other means "wisdom".

Kanji, in case some of you don't know, is the way of writing words in Japanese, and can have many meanings for one word. I myself find the subject/language fascinating.


	23. Exchange

Looking up into his eyes, her hand still lingering by his face, Aoi found her body acting on its own, lips meeting with an impatient welcome, Itachi's hands no longer by his sides but inching against her waist as he drew her closer. While they had yet to be physically intimate, this was not the first time that they had clung to the other, arms hungry leeches, lips starving, hips ravenous for constant contact...

But it was different this time...

There were no words exchanged between them, not even meaningful glances to verify that this was the case, but still they could feel it, deep inside, that this was going to be it...

Back meeting with the mulch, tongues locked in a deep tango, hands became their own conscious entities, roaming here and untying there, shedding away the only things that separated their wanting bodies. Even though it had been such a long time now, so much more so for Itachi, there was no shyness or hesitance, only an unspoken urgency. Pent up for months, it was only a matter of time before their sexual frustrations were unleashed, bursting forth in a blinding wave of red-hot embraces...

"I know I'm not perfect..." She trailed off, very aware that he had taken a split second to look at her entire body, but if anyone had been watching, they wouldn't have seen anything but her running his hand over her inner thigh.

Very sweetly, he kissed her cheek, taking his free hand along a different path, "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Placated by his generous if not exaggerated wording, she let slip a small moan as his fingers found their way to the most intimate of intimates. Already moist and wanting before his preparations (in which she assisted) there was little need for foreplay; besides, given her life, that was not a luxury she knew. Due to her years of training, it was almost second nature to grasp him tight (but not too tight) as he entered her.

Slowly at first, he lowered his hips against hers, the ecstasy already almost overwhelming, but it was impossible for either party to pace themselves...

The faster they went, the louder and more frequently her moans came, and the more she enjoyed it, the more he was spurred on, and on and on it went until they couldn't take it anymore, the lust rushing in a tidal wave of excitement, until at last, it was time for the ultimate albeit temporary end to arrive. Leaning against her lover, his arms laced to her spine, they exchanged a tender kiss, eyes locking as their bodies jerked wildly, coming to a spastic stop after a moment of euphoric release and confusion.

Equally pink and clawed, a pale hand stretched out for any piece of cast off clothing they could find, and striking gold, came back with a certain cloak. In unity, they both smoothed the impromptu covering over their bodies, curled close. Drained in so many ways, it wasn't long before sleep came, although not before a small exchange.

"You were amazing..." So out of breath, and yet she could tell that he meant it.

But that was a two-sided coin, "I've had a lot of practice." Despite the anger in her voice, she was afraid that Itachi would get the wrong idea, so Aoi wasn't slow to add, "Not really by choice though. As a bride, there was some part of me that was excited, I suppose, but... It was nothing compared to this. You are... Wow..."

"It just came so natural with you." He confided, "Aoi... I think that I..."

She nestled her head closer, twisting awkwardly to look up at him, the blue wider and brighter than he had ever seen it before, "I know. I can feel it, inside."

* * *

So, another year, come and gone...

At least I gave you two chapters as opposed to one... Some consolation though...


	24. Can Fish Smile?

The next day (after a _very_ late start), Aoi and Itachi were greeted by the return of Kisame, back from his weekly scouting trip, arms leadened by a net the size of Aoi, flopping with half-dead fish. While any of them easily could have caught the slimy sustenance, the water ninja always had to gripe about what the other two came back with, claiming that the girl's were too puny to feed his appetite, and Itachi's methods left them too charred for enjoyable consumption. So more often than not, he would do the fishing, on the condition that the woman do her job and prepare the food. Although he didn't say it, there was another reason that he would leave them alone as much as he could, and it wasn't very hard for Itachi to surmise what it was.

"You seem to be a good mood," Kisame commented as he threw the net down at Aoi's feet.

Half rolling his eyes, Itachi glanced at Aoi, a blush on her cheeks to match the clan's insignia, "I had a good rest."

The shark-man didn't miss the looks they were sharing, nor did he miss the opportunity to say something about it, "So you finally took my advise? And, how was she? I mean now that you've finally used her, I'm sure that you wouldn't mind sharing-"

"Stay away from her, Kisame." He didn't need to see the look of terror on her face to have to step up to her defense, "If you know what's good for you, you won't lay a finger on Aoi."

Afraid of his partner as the next guy, Kisame backed off for the time, but the look on his face was one that screamed he would be back for her when the time was right...It wasn't that the kelp was of any interest to him personally, but he was a man, and men had needs, and his needs weren't being fulfilled... It just wasn't right that his teammate could have a little stress reliever and he couldn't...

...And who knows, it might be fun to be the one in control for once...

Back in the base, sword firmly in hand, Sasuke gazed over at the target, a smile cracking just below the surface... He had finally done it! The one move standing between him and victory, and he had mastered it! Granted, it took longer than it should have, but he had learned the techinque properly, so now all there was was to gather his team and the supplies...

He did it...

Itachi was going to die for certain with this, and Aoi (assuming that she was alive) was going to be back in his arms once more...

* * *

All of this time, and sex-stuff still isn't something I write... Oh well, we've past that particular bump now anyways, so it doesn't matter...

Que dramatic music! Sasuke's going to go after his woman! But the question remains... Is she still his woman?


	25. Always

Once their meals had been prepared - Kisame acting as he usually did and taking his place away from the lovebirds - and Aoi had finished preserving the remainder for later consumption, she sat by the dying fire of the makeshift oven and watched as the coals faded to dim embers. Noticing that she wasn't touching her food, Itachi could tell that something was wrong, and he had a few guesses as to what was on her mind...

"What is it?" He inquired gently, not bothering to hide his gestures from Kisame.

It took her a moment to look away from the fire, or rather what was left of it, "I have a bad feeling. I'm not sure if its about him," Aoi nodded blindly over her shoulder, indicating Kisame, "or something else, but I have a bad feeling in the pity of my stomach."

But there was something else that was bothering her too, and he knew that because he was thinking the same thing, "He'll be here soon." Sasuke. Grabbing her by the wrist, Itachi handed her something, looking deep into her eyes, "Aoi, I won't pretend that I have a chance, so I'm not going to ask you to chose between us, but I want you to know that if I could have had a normal life, I would have asked you to share it with me."

As much as she wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and cry tears of joy, his words had sent a shock wave throughout her entire body, reminding her of something that she shouldn't have forgotten for a second, "Oh, Itachi!" Her heart was aching, feeling as it were literally tearing itself in two, "I wish that-"

"Shhh," he placed his finger to her lips, "You don't have to say anything."

Swimming, welling, bursting, her eyes ran with tears, both joyous and tormented, "I do. I hate that the moment I can finally give my heart and have it returned, I realize that I already... I don't want you to hate me, but I made it that way the moment we met..."

"Aoi?" It was uncleared whether or not he was more alarmed or confused by her actions.

Unable to look at him, into those eyes she loved so much, she shoved him away, "I didn't want it to be like this... The last of our time together, or even us, but I... Itachi-"

He didn't need any of his training to read her or what was bothering her, but to say that it didn't cut him to the core... Although he really shouldn't have been surprised... After all, there was nothing but pressure to continue the clan, and who better to carry it on with than Aoi? Even her forgetting that they been engaged was understandable to a degree, as it must have just happened before Orochimaru had pawned her off, and combined with the upset of being uprooted so suddenly and thrown into this position, seemingly abandoned by Sasuke... It just made sense to forget, to cope, to survive, but it made him wonder if what she felt in her heart for him was what she thought that it was? Unconsciously, there was a marginal chance that she had only been attracted to him because of his brother...

No. There might have been a chance that things had started out like that at the root, but they weren't like that now...

"I know. I was too late." Getting up so he could clear away his dishes and her half-eaten meal, he looked back at her, "But I've come to terms with the fact that this was never meant to be... kojuuto."

Stunned, she looked as if he may have well slapped her, "How...? How did you know?"

Smiling a sad kind of smile, a smile that admired defeat in order to protect a loved one, Itachi put the dishes in one hand so that he could help her up, "Because I love you. And one doesn't exactly need ANBU training to tell what you were trying break to me."

Taking his hand, present still clenched tight, Aoi looked at him, eyes impossibly blue, "Still?"

For the briefest fraction of time, his grasp on her tightened, but it was a fleeting motion, "Always."

* * *

Translation: Kojuuto - sister-in-law.

I'd like to add something, but that was pretty self-explanitory I think.

Please, review!


	26. No Looking Back

It had been just under a week since it came out that Aoi was truly engaged to be not Itachi's bride but his sister-in-law, and although there were no harsh words exchanged, something just felt _broken_ between the two of them. Of course they still loved each other in a way that they shouldn't have, but every smile they had tried to give was tainted, just seeping pain, and every time one of them touched the other, it wasn't without a flinch or jerking motion.

Given the strain, it wasn't abundantly unexpected for their companion to be driven away, for once leaving even earlier than he normally would for his private excursions. Personally, Aoi had no desire to know what it was Kisame got up to while they were apart (or when they were together for that matter), but she was a little bit curious to know if he actually did anything while he was away, or if it was all to just be on his own...

Either way, that left them alone...

Hair tied back in a braid, Aoi fidgeted with the end as they walked along, heading on a path that was taking them suspiciously closer to one of Orochimaru's formerly decommissioned bases. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn that Itachi had some kind of a plan... But if he did, then didn't that mean that goodbye was close? Sure, she couldn't find the words to say to express herself at the moment, nor could she even look at him without trembling, but that didn't mean that her heart wasn't full! There was still so much to say, and nothing to remain unsaid, so it couldn't be farewell!

"We're going to split up soon, aren't we?" It wasn't a question.

He sighed, feeling once more that he was dealing with his little brother, although this situation was vastly different, "I don't want you there when we fight - things could easily get out of hand."

"Liar." She stopped dead in her tracks, "You don't want me to see the two of you fighting each other."

Close, but it was actually the outcome he was loath for her to be present for, "Aoi, you can't be there. Promise me that no matter what you see or hear, you won't come back to the battlefield until its over."

"You mean until one of you is dead." She just couldn't bring herself to say who was going to be the loser, even though she knew exactly who it was going to be.

"I don't plan on killing him." He shook his head, saying out loud what she had expected from the beginning.

Why else allow himself some happiness when the end was looming, when all meaning was to be lost? "I don't want you to die! I love you."

Why did she have to say that? It was hard enough already to have to endure the circumstances without her having to say that, so why did she have to voice it out loud? Why did he have to fall in love with her...? Was it not enough that he had to suffer a life that he foresaw not spanning the next month? Even if Aoi had met him in her own terms, without any attachments to Sasuke, he still would have been in the position to have to lose her! But this? Being engaged to his brother? That only made matters more complicated.

"You and I both know that my time is short-"

"So what? Don't you deserve some moment of true happiness?" She jerked her head from side to side, tears threatening to strangle her, "I know that I don't have the right to say what I want, but-"

He looked at her incredulously, "How could you not deserve a word? You're the one that will suffer the worst in all of this..."

In a sense that was true, but she still disagreed, "Baka! I'll have to live on, always regretting the choices we three made, but you..." Her voice broke off, unable to bear the thought saying his fate out loud, and she fell to her knees, "Itachi, I don't want you to die... You can't leave me alone... I love you!"

Wrapping his arms around her, the eldest Uchiha brother knelt by her side and held her as she cried, rubbing circles over her back. He knew that she loved him, that this was going to kill a part of herself in the process, but his mind had been made so long ago, and there was no going back...

* * *

Is it strange that I don't find this to be my best work, and yet I still like it?


	27. How?

Heart split into two over two very different but equally good brothers, Aoi found herself in a place she never expected to see again - her very first room since coming to Orochimaru. The walls were ripped away in places by time, but the bitter memories made behind them were as clear to her as the day they happened. But what did it matter, having to wait beside the bricks that saw her breaking when she had to face the fact that one of the only men she had ever loved was not only about to die but die at the hands of his brother, her first love? It was a horrible situation, and all she could do was wait...

As much as she wanted to question Itachi's decision, she fully understood him, and she knew that to question it would be to question him, and that was something that she didn't have to ever do. And hate it as much as she did, she completely got where Sasuke was coming from as well, so even if it were in her power to, she knew that she had no place in trying to dissuade him from this. But how? How could she possible sit there and wait for this happen, to lose a part of herself?

Sasuke was the first person she had given her heart to, and had willingly laid with, but he had broken her heart the minute that she had been abducted...

Itachi, on the other hand, was someone she had grown to love, understanding them in a way that she couldn't even get herself. But he broke her heart too... Broke it even before they had ever met...

So how could she live with this? Even if Itachi did somehow miraculously return from this, how could she honestly forgive him for this? How could she forgive Sasuke?

And more importantly, how could Sasuke ever forgive her after she told him of what had transpired between herself and his brother? The brother that had so royally betrayed not only himself but their entire clan? She couldn't not tell him, so how in the world were they ever supposed to get past this?

He abandoned her, true for good reason, but he had made no effort to even verify that she had still been alive, and she betrayed him by falling in love with the man that he had spent a majority of his life trying to kill! How was it ever going to be right between them?

* * *

A huge, mega, ultra thanks to WarFlower (see, she still loves him, because she's talking about their future) for reviewing every chapter of this thing up to this point! And for the rest of you, here's the next part! Its pretty short, but hey, at least you all finally get an update at all. Besides, as if this story has the longest chapters of all time...


	28. The Death of Love, Part One

Marching up to the designated place, assuming that Aoi had been placed in a secondary location were she still alive (which he refused to believe otherwise), Sasuke saw his brother, patiently waiting for his arrival.

Sasuke didn't notice it at the time, but Itachi looked even more depressed than he normally did, heart aching as he said his silent farewells to the girl that never truly could have been his. Even if it had not been for the dismal fate of the Uchiha, something told Itachi that Sasuke would always be there in her life, always holding a special place in her heart. Sasuke was just that kind of a kid.

But it still cut him deep. Deeper than Sasuke's blade ever could. Ironic that he had the best weapon of all in his arsenal, and he didn't even know it. But Sasuke wouldn't know it, not while he still drew breath at least. The older man knew Aoi, and he knew that she could never keep their affair a secret, not from Sasuke - he just hoped that his little brother would understand and forgive her sooner rather than later...

Death wasn't nearly as painful as it had been to say goodbye...

Standing over his brother's body, slain after a fateful and climatic final battle, numbed and in a sate of delayed shock, Sasuke wanted so badly to collapse, but he could not, not until Aoi was back in his arms once more. She must have been horrified, frightened into a corner and at the crux of despair. He could only imagine the kinds of hell that his brother must have put her through...

Stumbling from the high rubble of the Uchiha complex, Sasuke wandered through the brush, sending out waves of his chakra to locate her. Thankfully, he did not have to walk far, as she was nearby. Although it did somewhat come as a surprise to him to not find her at an old, abandoned fortress but alone and unguarded. Wasn't there another guy working with his brother?

Weary of a trap, Sasuke entered the compound...

"Aoi?" He called out into the darkness, standing in the light near the front entrance.

There was a soft blubbering sound as she came walking slowly towards him, stepping very gradually into the light, almost as if she had been afraid to see him, but surely that could not have been the case... Unless it had something to do with what his brother had done to her...

"Aoi?" He repeated in a far gentler tone, extending his arms out to her.

Closing her eyes, a fresh wave of tears washed through her, and she ran into his arms, overcome to see him standing there before her in person once more. Jumping slightly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest, crying freely, "Sasuke...!"

Everything that she had been thinking, dreading, and anticipating had dried and gone away the minute that she saw him standing there, waiting in the light. She wanted so badly to blurt it all out at that exact moment, to face whatever his judgment had been right away, but seeing him had been too much and everything that she had ever felt for him had come back to her with a vengeance...

* * *

Next! What, did I really need to write out a battle we all know? Geez... Oh, and if there are any typos, I'm sorry, but I'm supper tired right about now (seriously, I need someone to pull me away in moments like these), so if you see any, please let me know so I can fix them?

Oh, and P.S., all smart people call it "cat-tra".


	29. The Death of Love, Part Two

And yet, she couldn't let him think for a minute more that she was worthy of his love, because after what she had done to him, she was worthy of nothing. Not death, not a life full of suffering and dwelling on every last mistake that continued to build. She was not worthy of anything in this life, nor the next.

Dropping her arms, Aoi backed away from Sasuke, "I can't... I want so badly to enjoy this moment, to let you savor it, to tell you how much I missed you, but I don't deserve that luxury... I can't..." She tried to shake away the tears rolling down her cheeks, but her bloodstained eyes could do nothing produce more, "Sasuke, I can't marry you."

It was honestly the last thing he had expected her to say to him, the teen at a loss, "What?"

She would have sighed if she could, "I... I did something horrible..." She wanted to look away, to see anything other than his face as she ripped his heart out, but she couldn't look away from his orbs of onyx, "I cheated on you... While you were training, working to get stronger, I fell in love with someone else... I never meant to, but somehow, I fell in love with the one person I never should have..." Backing away, she shook her head, unsure of how to tell him what she did, "I gave a part of myself to the man that did this to you. I fell in love with your brother."

Ok, _that_ was the last thing he had ever expected to hear. Forgetting for a moment the fact that she was _his_ fiancée, how in the world could anyone have fallen in love with the likes of his older brother? Itachi was the root of all evil, so how could she possibly have formed any sort of a bond with him? Unless... was it possible that even despite his training, Itachi had been too strong for her, and as a final form of disrespect had manipulated her into believing some outlandish lie? Because there was just no way that she could have given her heart to him. Was there?

"I know that you want to believe that I'm lying, that I'm mistaken, and a part of me wishes that too, but it's true... I can't explain it to you, no matter how much I wish that I could, but I promised him that I wouldn't..." Aoi would have cried more, but she had spent the last several hours crying, so it just wasn't in her, "I fell in love with Itachi, knowing exactly who he was, and I gave myself to him. I know that we were engaged to be married, but I was so hurt, and we... We connected. I wish that I could explain why I did what I did, but there is no justification... I tried so hard to fight it, because I love you so much, but... Sasuke, I wish I could make it better, say that it was a lie or something I regret, but as much as I love you, I can't say that I regret it."

"..."

"I know that you will never forgive me, and I don't blame you, but you have to know... I love you too much to keep this a lie. I know you can never trust me again, that you doubt that I can love anything, let alone you, but you have to know that I do, from the bottom of my heart." Falling to the ground on her own, she bowed before him, "I understand if you never want to see me again, or if you want to kill me, and I want you to know that I don't blame you, and that I will honor whatever it is you wish of me."

"..."

Expecting some form of reply or other, Aoi looked up just in time to see Sasuke waver in place, knees buckling as he fell from consciousness. Of course he would have rushed to find her before resting after his fight...

* * *

Another! So, I put out two chapters in a day the last time... And worked on this one. What can I say, I'm on a roll!


	30. Return of Jaws, Reminder of Pain

As his mind sorted through all the impossibilities Aoi had given him, barely daring to touch him Aoi brought him back inside of the run-down building, carefully placing his unconscious body near the fire pit, so that he would be warm. A large part of her wanted to be gone from his sight, but under the conditions, she had no choice but to stay and tend to him, at least until he had regained his strength. Knowing him, that wouldn't take too long, so she took this last chance to watch him as he dozed somewhat peacefully.

Making a small fire for what she took to be her former fiancée, wandering out a ways to catch a small hare, Aoi was careful to hide Sasuke's location should anyone undesirable be in the immediate area. And speaking of undesirable people...

Following the girl after she emerged from the hidden shelter, tracking her with ease, Kisame strolled brazenly up towards her, cornering her as she set her trap for dinner. He chuckled nastily, tapping Samehada against the soft green grass, "Now that Itachi's dead, you don't have anyone to protect you..."

She flinched, not from his voice, but from hearing Itachi's name in the same sentence with the word 'dead', "So will you kill me first, or make me suffer for your ineptitude against a truly amazing shinobi?" Turning to look over her shoulder at him, she shook her head, "You're a coward, and cowards always act in the most vile of ways."

"Brave words, girl." He growled, "You must want to die so that you can rejoin your lover in the afterlife!"

Closing her eyes, she braced herself for his attack, whispering one word, "No." She had done too much bad in her life, and almost none of it in good intention, so there was no way that she would ever be reunited with Itachi. She would face the worst kind of suffering possible when her time came, and she would deserve every last second of it for hurting Sasuke, "I hurt them too much for that."

Kisame spat in disgust at her ideals, "Say whatever you want to console yourself... It makes no difference, because you will meet your end soon enough." Going to the girl, closing the space between them in but a single step, he shoved her down to the dirt, "That's a good look for you. Fitting."

Dropping down to his knees, he pinned her to the ground, forcing her kimono open with the partially unraveled Samehada, slashing her skin anew. She had gone for such a long time now without being physically marred, she almost forgotten just how painful each cut had been, almost. Looking at her with sharp eyes, he sized her up rather quickly.

"I don't get what Itachi ever saw in you... Your body is so disfigured it could make a child cry," He ran his hand alongside her abs, shocked to see just how abused she had been, "Your own child, had someone not done it a service and ripped it from your life before it could suffer a mother such as you," He smirked as she broke into tears at his words, still haunted by the life she had lost so long ago, "and even the size of your chest is disappointing."

He held her breasts in his hands, rubbing his thumb over her nipples, sending a shiver of disgust down her back. This was not right! Screaming out, she stifled her own cries, thinking of Sasuke, imagining that even if had woken up just at the sound of her cries, he might not be a match for Kisame in his weakened state. No, better to endure this punishment than to endanger the life of Sasuke. She deserved far worse than just this one cretin having his way with her once before killing her...

* * *

So Kisame comes back to extract his revenge on Aoi now that Itachi is no longer there to protect her. Creep. Nah, I actually do feel kind of bad for him though, considering that even the end, Gai never remembered who he was. Obviously I don't feel bad enough to not besmirch his name.


	31. A Dark Love Can Only Exist With Light

But he didn't kill her, and that was a far crueler fate than either of them could have imagined...

Kisame had left her there, not too far from the cave Sasuke was recovering in, bleeding and raw in more than one definition, her heart screaming for someone - anyone - to end it all... She had lost Sasuke, she had lost Itachi, and whatever had had been left to Aoi had been robbed in that one foul act. What was there to live for, now that everything had been taken from her? Even with Orochimaru, life had retained some sort of purpose, but that was before she had fallen in love... Before she had become this inhuman monster...

Too drained and too disgusted with herself to even bother weeping for her fate, Aoi laid there in the dirt, just waiting to die. She might have been waiting a long time, were it not for the pairs of hands pulling up into the air, carrying her back into the cave, placing her down in front of the fire. Poofing away as if they had never been there, Sasuke looked beyond the shadow clones he had impulsively sent out to find her, gazing intently at a woman so defeated, so destroyed, he almost couldn't recognize her any more...

But he knew that she was still in there somewhere, buried beneath a mountain of rubble, just waiting to be found again...

"...You asked me once what I would do after I killed my brother," He saw her flinch at the mention of Itachi, but she meant too much to him to just let her go without a fight, "and I told you then that I would revive my clan." He watched as she lowered her head out of shame, "I still mean to honor that promise, but not before I help my future wife find her way back home to me."

Her head lurched up so fast she seemed to be something more than human for the briefest of moments, "What do you mean...? Surely you must despise me after everything...?!"

Sasuke had not forgiven her for her sins just yet, but while he had recovered from the fight with Itachi, he realized that she was important to the both of them, and he could not bring himself to hate his brother for falling in love with Aoi, nor could he entirely begrudge her for finding it in her heart to love someone like his brother. It hurt deeper than any jutsu ever could, and he could tell that this wound might never fully recover, but he could not live with himself if he just let her go like this... He had lost his family twice now, and he was not prepared to do so for a third time...

"You broke my heart, but only after I broke yours, so I can't blame you. I can't pretend that this is going to work, that I know that we can overcome this, that we will be happy, that this will be the only time we leave each other as the walking dead, but I do know that I will never forgive myself if we don't at least try. I love you, Aoi, and I'm not prepared to lose you here; not after losing my brother..." He looked into her eyes, seeing himself reflected in their rippling depths, the tears shining on her cheeks washing away a fresh path for their future together, "Loving me will seep your soul in darkness, and it will never be easy, but I need to know if you will fight for me, for us..."

"No..." She shook her head, "You're wrong - I am the darkness, and you are the light, and neither can exist without the other..."

* * *

So this is what writing when you're half-asleep looks like...


	32. Epilogue: Darkness Overcome By Love

**Epilogue: Darkness Overcome By Love**

After the death of Itachi, Sasuke continues on, finding out the truth of his brother's actions, and along with Aoi, decides to help his old friends and former village in the time of their greatest need, becoming once more a member of Team Seven while she was left in a zone of relative safety...

After the war, returned to the village as a hero and welcomed shinobi once more, Sasuke makes good on the promise he made to Aoi, and together they worked to find her path, raising a new generation of Uchiha...

"Mommy?" A young boy in his first year at the academy pulled at his mother's side, scarcely heeding the smaller bundle in her arms, "Nariko and Hanzo said that you were crying at uncle's grave yesterday. Is it true?"

Aoi looked down at her small son, his black eyes so gentle it almost hurt her to admit the truth, "Itachi was a very brave shinobi, and the price he paid was more than anyone can ever know." She saw that he was not taking the bait, so she sighed at her son's stubbornness, "Your uncle was very close to me once, and your father knows that I can never forget everything he's done for me, and I know that a part of your father can never forgive me for it, so this stays between us, ok, my love?"

Swayed by his mother's pained smile, he nodded, taking her hand as he lead the way back home, "Father should be back from his mission soon, right mommy?" He had a way of lifting her spirits, just by his wide grin.

It was a grin she hoped he would never lose. Adjusting her youngest son without having to pause, Aoi fell into step with her middle child, waving at Sasuke's friends as they passed her in the street. She wondered if any of them believed the rumor that Sasuke's eldest child was really his brother's...

Sayuri was born so close to the end of the war, many had to wonder, but the only ones that really needed to know the truth knew exactly who the little girl's father was, so the rumors could swirl as much as they liked, because she was loved, and that was all that mattered.

Speaking of Sayuri, she was waiting by the door for her mother to return from taking her younger brothers to the doctor for their checkups. Only so old, and she was already a shining example of what a good wife should be... Too bad she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps and become a shinobi... Well, no matter, because Aoi would love her daughter no matter what path she chose. Sasuke had done the same for her, so it was the least she could do for her husband, to pass down the greatest gift he could ever give a wretch like her.

"Welcome back," Sayuri bowed her head at her mother, "You have a guest."

Looking sideways at the dark haired beauty, Aoi saw out of the corner of her eye a fetching man with obsidian locks and onyx orbs, so she nodded a thanks to her daughter and passed her the infant in her arms, "Go with your sister."

Rolling his eyes, he did as he was told and followed his sister inside the house. Making sure that the children were inside, Aoi approached the man, "You should know better than to come here. If my husband were to see you, he would probably kill us both."

He smirked, taking her face in his hand, the skin gloved in a battered glove in desperate need of repair, "Its a good thing he's not expected back until tomorrow then..."

She kissed him, dropping all pretense, "I missed you while you were gone."

"I know, but we both know that that blockhead hokage of ours isn't strong enough to deal with half the stuff he sends me in to do." He smirked, taking her in his arms, not caring that they were still in perfect view of the street as he kissed her back.

She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, "You are terrible at trying to comfort me about the dangers of your job. You should be thankful that you are so good at everything else."

"We can't all be perfect," He lifted her chin up so that their lips met with little resistance, "Not even the light."

Shaking her head, Aoi spotted two pairs of black eyes peaking out of the window, which made her laugh, "I think I've hogged you enough for now. Go see your children - they missed you almost as much as I did."

Sasuke released her without a word, leaving a small hollow feeling in his wake, looking back over his shoulder at his wife, "After I put them to bed, I promise I'm all yours."

Aoi shook her head, "No, you will always be mine - even the Hokage can never change that."

"Naruto would be an idiot to try," He agreed, "There are things that change in this world, but one thing that will never change is you. The darkness can take many forms and twist its shape, but the light will always be there by the darkness, caressing its side and giving it life. Say what you will, but you will always be my light."

Aoi kissed him once more, following him back inside their home, "And you will always be mine."

* * *

And so ends my longest running fic! Tell me what you think, if you haven't already!

I just can't believe it's over :(


End file.
